‘It’s no secret’: Erik ten Hag admits United spoke to other managers

Erik ten Hag has admitted that Manchester United contacted other managers about his job and revealed that he is yet to agree a new contract with the club.

Ten Hag’s comments, made on a television sports show in the Netherlands on Sunday, confirmed the speculation swirling around the club since they won the FA Cup last month before it emerged last week that the Dutchman was to stay in his post.

“As in any organisation, and that seems very sensible to me, there is an evaluation,” said Ten Hag. “Conclusions were drawn from there. The new leadership is playing football for the first time,” he said referring to the minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

Ratcliffe’s company Ineos had spoken to other coaches, including the former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel, said Ten Hag. “That’s no secret. Everyone has heard that they have spoken to several candidates. In the Netherlands that is not done. You are not even allowed to talk to another club if there is a current trainer there. But in England the rules and laws are different. But in the end they came to the conclusion that they have the best trainer,” Ten Hag quipped.

“The club management came to me while I was on holiday in Ibiza,” he added. “They suddenly showed up on my doorstep and told me they wanted to continue with me.

“We had a good discussion and various topics were discussed. One of the conclusions is that we will extend the contract. But we still have to reach an agreement. This isn’t easily done – we are still going to have to talk about this.”

Manchester United might have won the FA Cup but their eighth-place finish was their worst since 1990. “It was a turbulent season. Never a dull moment,” Ten Hag said.