Ruben Amorim has arrived at Manchester United and the club is moving forward into the new era but one thing can never be taken away from Erik ten Hag.
He became the first Man Utd manager to win a trophy since Jose Mourinho when he led the team to the Carabao Cup in the 2022/23 season then followed it up with the FA Cup last season.
In an injury-riddled 2023/24 season for Man Utd, it all came down to the last game of the season to salvage something, anything out of it.
United were huge underdogs for the game but they defied the odds to win against Manchester City and qualify for the Europa League.
In the same season, Ten Hag led United to their worst-ever Premier League finish, and Kobbie Mainoo, the hero of that FA Cup final, seems to indicate that he agrees more with Ineos‘ assessment of Erik ten Hag than the manager’s own.
Kobbie Mainoo reflects on FA Cup win last season
For Mainoo, the FA Cup win arguably stands as the best moment of his career so far. He lived the dream by lifting the trophy at Wembley against United’s fierce rivals while being named the man of the match in the final.
It also added some respect to United’s season which had quickly come off the rails completely, bad beyond a point where even injury issues weren’t big enough mitigating factors.
Mainoo, on the back of that sterling performance, was called up for the Euros where he continued his ascent to become one of England’s best players as well.
To reward him for his meteoric rise, Mainoo has been named one of British GQ’s Men of the Year alongside Cole Palmer.
He spoke to the British GQ magazine after receiving the award and gave his thoughts on the FA Cup win last season.
He said: “I won’t say it made the season a success for us as a team, but we definitely needed it. We couldn’t go into the summer with nothing, just finishing where we finished in the table. A trophy brings hope. But it definitely didn’t make the season a success.”
Mainoo’s claim directly conflicts with Erik ten Hag
It is likely that Mainoo’s claim about the FA Cup being a hope more than a marker of success resonates with many Man Utd fans who have been saying the same thing.
In fact, near the end of his tenure, Ten Hag’s repeated assertion that his two trophies made both his seasons a success were starting to grate with the fans.
In that sense, Mainoo’s comments align more with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s comments which also conflicted with Ten Hag’s philosophy.
Despite the FA Cup win, which was a remarkable performance in a one-off game, it was clear as soon as the new season started that not much had changed.
Ultimately, after just four wins in 14 games across all competitions, Ten Hag was relieved of his duties, with the FA Cup win proving to be a false dawn.
It brought him 14 more games than it perhaps should have, but it was never something that made the whole season a success. Kobbie Mainoo agrees with that.
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