Manchester United send clear message to Erik ten Hag after Liverpool defeat

Manchester United chiefs Dan Ashworth and Omar Berrada have thrown their full support behind Erik ten Hag despite the club’s poor performance against Liverpool.

Despite a disappointing eighth-place finish in the Premier League, Ten Hag remained in his post over the summer thanks, in part, to his side’s unlikely FA Cup win over Manchester City.

However, the pressure is firmly back on the Dutchman after a sluggish start to the season which has seen them fall to a late defeat against Brighton before being thumped 3-0 by Liverpool at Old Trafford.

Both Ashworth and Berrada arrived over the summer as fresh appointments by Sir Jim Ratcliffe to change the club’s footballing structure.

And while neither was involved in the decision to keep Ten Hag, both were keen to reiterate their support for the current boss despite the sticky start to the season.

Speaking before the defeat to Liverpool, CEO Berrada said: ‘That was a decision that was taken prior to both of our arrivals. But we’re very happy with that decision.

‘Erik has our full backing and we have worked very closely together in this transfer window. We’re going to continue working very closely with him to help him get the best results out of the team.

‘Do we still believe in Erik? Absolutely. We think Erik is the right coach for us and we’re fully backing him.’

Ashworth, meanwhile, who left his post as sporting director at Newcastle United to join the Red Devils, said he hoped to work alongside Ten Hag and ensure the Dutchman can focus solely on footballing maters.

‘I’ve really enjoyed working with Erik for the last eight weeks,’ he added.

‘I see my job is to support him in every way I possibly can — and whether that’s operationally, whether that’s with recruitment, whether that’s with medical, whether that’s with psychology, whether that’s training ground flow.

‘It’s just to take as much of that off him to allow him to fully focus on the training pitch and the match tactical plan to deliver success for Manchester United.’

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