Former Liverpool winger Ryan Babel has revealed the two key reasons that Erik ten Hag lost his job at Man Utd earlier this season.
Ten Hag had a positive first season in charge of the Red Devils with the former Ajax boss leading them to an FA Cup final, League Cup glory and a top-four finish in the Premier League.
However, he could only lead Man Utd to an eight-placed finish in the Premier League last term and, despite winning the FA Cup final, his job came under severe pressure over the summer.
INEOS and the Man Utd hierarchy spoke to a number of potential candidates to take over from him but ultimately decided to stick with the Dutchman heading into the new season.
The Red Devils won just three of their opening nine matches this term under Ten Hag and INEOS made the decision to sack Ten Hag at the end of October.
Man Utd hired Ruben Amorim to succeed Ten Hag as manager and Babel – who played under his compatriot at Ajax – reckons the Dutchman was let down in the transfer market.
Babel told Instant Casino: “I experienced Ten Hag at Ajax, and he was very clear on his vision and on how he wanted to play.
“Over the years I’ve seen managers succeed and managers fail and that’s not because they are bad managers all of a sudden.
“You have the arguments as to why it didn’t work out for him at United. Did he spend money? Yes, he did, but I also think that he missed out on some of the players that he really, really wanted while he was at Manchester United.
MORE MAN UTD COVERAGE ON F365…
👉 Manchester United top scorers against Big Six: Fernandes overtakes Van Persie
👉 Six Manchester United players Van Nistelrooy could sign for Leicester includes academy pair
👉 Mediawatch: Sancho (and Beckham) ‘true colours’ shown in pathetic Manchester United reporting
“There were occasions where he couldn’t get his top targets and he had to divert to plan B, plan C. Maybe the players he was presented with couldn’t execute the type of football he wanted to play.”
Babel added: “I do know that he is a great coach, he has a great vision, he has a great eye for football but, again, the Premier League is a different ball game to the Dutch way of playing.
“It is not always suitable in the Premier League to play with those principles. In the Premier League, you need to be able to adapt. You need to have a plan B for strategy. I’m not sure if he had that.
“I think he was too wedded to his plan and tried to make it work even when it was turning against him.
“That’s what I believe happened. It’s sad of course to see a fellow Dutchman go down like that, but I’m sure he will bounce back.”
Babel believes his former boss will be back in management soon after his disappointment at Man Utd, he continued: “He seems like a type who wants to bounce back. Whether he gets that chance, I don’t know. But he definitely wants to prove himself.”
