Life has not been easy for Erik ten Hag since he left Manchester United last October.
Bayer Leverkusen troubles
The United manager won the FA Cup in 2024 but a poor league season put huge doubts in the mind of numerous fans.
He also failed to make a positive start to last season despite being financially backed in the summer window and was sacked after a 1-2 defeat to West Ham United in October last year.
Ten Hag took some time out of work but was finally named Bayer Leverkusen’s new manager in the summer,
It has been a transitional time for the Germans as they have lost key players this summer such as Granit Xhaka, Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Jonathan Tah.
They also came unstuck in their first match of the new Bundesliga season, losing 1-2 at home to Hoffenheim.
They have a chance to respond this afternoon when Die Schwarzroten travel to Werder Bremen.
Ten Hag already under major pressure
German newspaper BILD report that “Ten Hag’s position is shaky if Bayer loses in Bremen.”
It is claimed that, “nervousness is rising in Leverkusen – even before the second game of the season on Saturday in Bremen.”
Subsequently, the paper warns that “there must be no second setback with the new team. Otherwise, the coaching debate will erupt during the international break.”
There is a belief that the squad is good enough to compete with the best teams in the Bundesliga and that there would be no excuse for such a poor start to the season.
The lack of clarity in playing style is said to be concerning the club in the opening day defeat as it wasn’t clear “how they wanted to outflank their opponents, and where they wanted to attack.”
Not Harry Potter
Speaking ahead of the match to the media, Ten Hag asserted “we have to win, that’s clear.” Nonetheless, he once again stated, “I’m not Harry Potter. There are steps forward and steps backward. We experienced that last week.”
His comments are a repetition of what the Dutch manager said after a defeat to Liverpool almost a year ago when he claimed he is not Harry Potter and that it would take time to fix United’s issues. Time he was not given as he was sacked the following month.
He will hope he has a lot more time in Leverkusen to iron out the issues his squad currently have.
Featured image Justin Setterfield via Getty Images
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Alex Browne
Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Proud owner of such niche shirts such as Kleberson, Eric Djemba-Djemba and Gary Neville. Grew up pretending to be Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the back garden, with little success.
