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Rob Dawson, Correspondent
Erik ten Hag believes he still has time to win over new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and keep his job as Manchester United manager, sources have told ESPN.
Ten Hag is under pressure at Old Trafford following a largely disappointing second season in charge.
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The Dutchman has been offered no formal guarantees that he will stay in his role as Ratcliffe and his team — headed by INEOS director of sport Sir Dave Brailsford — continue their audit of football operations following their purchase of a 27.7% stake in the club.
Ten Hag has a contract until 2025 but, according to sources, understands that he has been left vulnerable by an underwhelming campaign, with United at risk of missing out on qualification for next season’s Champions League.
With 10 games to go, United are sixth on Premier League the table, six points behind fifth-place Tottenham and nine adrift of Aston Villa in fourth.
Finishing fifth in the Premier League could yet be good enough to earn a place in the Champions League via UEFA performance spots for next season’s new expanded competition.
Despite doubts about his future, Ten Hag remains convinced that a final decision has not yet been made and that he still has time to earn the full backing of Ratcliffe and Brailsford.
Ten Hag has been fully involved in planning for the summer transfer window but, according to sources, Brailsford has also been monitoring other candidates for the job in the event that a change of manager is required.
Gareth Southgate, Graham Potter, Roberto De Zerbi, Thomas Frank, Thomas Tuchel, Julen Lopetegui, Zinedine Zidane, Ruben Amorim and Julian Nagelsmann have all been discussed internally as potential replacements.
Sources have told ESPN that Ratcliffe is determined to be as ambitious as possible with his appointments to key positions and official approaches for candidates like Ange Postecoglou, who has been at Tottenham for less than a year, have not been ruled out.
Targeting Postecoglou, or any manager currently secure in a job, would follow an aggressive recruitment policy since Ratcliffe’s investment which has seen United appoint Omar Berrada from Manchester City as their new CEO and approach Newcastle United over the appointment of Dan Ashworth as sporting director.
Sources have told ESPN that Ratcliffe and Brailsford feel that recent United managers have been let down by an off-field structure which has not been fit for purpose and, if Ten Hag does enough to warrant another year in charge, he would benefit from working alongside Berrada and Ashworth.