Pep Guardiola has given his thoughts on the sacking of Erik ten Hag at Manchester United and made a prediction for his future.
Manchester United relieved Erik ten Hag of his managerial duties on Monday morning after his side suffered yet another defeat, this time to West Ham, on Sunday.
Though it was a controversial and unlucky loss in London, there has been little sign of United heading in the right direction and they are currently languishing 14th in the Premier League table.
In a display of uncharacteristic efficiency, United have seemingly moved quickly to hire Ten Hag’s successor and have settled on Sporting coach Ruben Amorim.
It’s reported United have reached a verbal agreement with Amorim but still needs to agree on a compensation fee with Sporting to secure the appointment.
Pep Guardiola, who was on the losing side of Ten Hag’s remarkable FA Cup final triumph in May, has sent a message of sympathy to the departed Dutchman and believes he will come back ‘stronger.’
Pep Guardiola speaks on Erik ten Hag sacking
Speaking in a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Guardiola said: “Always I feel sorry for a manager who loses his position.
“I’m so sorry for him. we had an incredible relationship and I think he represents Man United at the highest level in terms of behaviour.
“Our job, the manager, is one of the few jobs in all the jobs in the world where people expected you to be sacked. I don’t see architects, doctors or teachers or anything [where] the people decide, ‘yeah, get out.’ It’s us. It’s our job, we have to accept it.
“I wish him all the best, he and his family, and he of course is going to come back stronger.
“He knows, I know, everybody knows that our job depends on the results. When the results are not good enough, always we are on the verge of staying or being sacked.”
Ruben Amorim expected to be in charge by the weekend
The appointment of Amorim has not yet been confirmed as we await news that United have reached an agreement with Sporting for a compensation package.
It has been reported that Amorim has a €20m (£16.6m) release clause in his contract but that figure is said to be lowered to €10m (£8.3m) if one of Europe’s biggest clubs comes knocking.
United might not be in the Champions League and are closer to the relegation zone than the top four at present but their historical pedigree and size means they are still in that bracket.
Providing there are no hiccups in negotiations with the Portuguese champions, United should have their new manager in place before their next Premier League fixture.
The Times reports that caretaker manager Ruud van Nistelrooy is only expected to take charge of one match, Wednesday’s Carabao Cup tie with Leicester City, with Amorim to be in the hot seat for the weekend’s game against Chelsea.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
