'Erik ten Hag is my close friend – I told him to quit Man Utd for good in May'

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has clung to his role at Old Trafford despite suggestions from a close friend that he should have walked out last summer.

In an eye-opening account, Leon Ten Voordewho not only grew up alongside the under-pressure coach but also joined him as a spectator at United’s recent Europa League game against FC Twente, has been pals with Ten Hag for over four decades and even shared duties as an altar boy in their home town of Haaksbergen, East Holland.

Ten Voorde, a journalist who continues to work with the football club from their youth, Bon Boys, where Ten Hag is an honoured member with a lounge bearing his name, divulged on podcast De Ballen Verstand of TC Tubantia: “I advised him to leave last summer. He won the FA Cup, so you leave through the front door. He’s had a lot of injuries this past year. But then trainers think: ‘I can turn things around’.”

“How long does United think this can go on? That’s a perfectly fair question. I think it’s a miracle he’s still there. You’ve been wondering for a long time how long this will go well for Ten Hag.

“That question is now hanging over United and Ten Hag again. In general, he is calm and relaxed. But I can’t imagine that this leaves you completely unaffected.”

Ten Hag, however, remains steadfast in his belief that he has the full support of United’s top brass, asserting that progress is imminent despite a challenging evening in Porto sparking further speculation about his future.

When quizzed on whether he senses patience from the United supporters and the club’s hierarchy, having previously urged assessments to be made at the end of the season, Ten Hag declared: “I’m not thinking about such issues because that is not a topic.

“We are in there together the ownership, the leadership team, the staff. I appointed a new staff, we bought, again, new young players and we have to integrate them. Like we just talked about Manuel Ugarte, the six position was absolutely one of the topics we want to sign for the season but he needs time to integrate.

“And I know in top football you don’t get time, they have to perform immediately, but it’s not always realistic. He has to get used to our game model, he has to get used to his team-mates, he has to get used to the intensity of the Premier League, so it needs time.

“We have more positions where we need time, where I was very pleased with the return of Rasmus Hojlund. I think he had a good return, but we didn’t and we couldn’t play him in the first two months of the season.

“Hopefully he’s now fit, he keeps improving in his fitness levels, and that he also has a consistent, fit season. That will help us. There are some more areas where we will improve, definitely, and then this team can grow and improve. Then we will see where we will end in the end of the season.”