‘I feel very sorry for him’ – managers react to Ten Hag sackingpublished at 15:49 Greenwich Mean Time
News conferences up and down the country have been dominated today with questions about the sacking of Erik ten Hag as manager of Manchester United.
Here is a snippet of what has been said…
Pep Guardiola: “I feel very sorry for him, it’s one of the best jobs in football. There’s only us, it’s not teachers or architects or something like that. I wish him all the best and he will come back stronger. If the results aren’t good enough, you get sacked. No-one is different, myself included.”
Ange Postecoglou: “If he was here with that record, would he have lost his job? I don’t know. Everyone tells me all I have to do is win a trophy. As a manager, you’ve got to hit a sweet spot of success, playing football everyone likes and getting every signing right. It is a difficult task but what you’ve seen in the past, I’m sure Erik will bounce back, he’s a good manager, top manager.”
Arne Slot: “We also know, especially us from Holland how well he did at Ajax and he won two trophies over here so we will see him in the near future again at a big club.”
Steve Cooper: “You applaud managers when they do well and you feel for them when they don’t, that’s how I feel for Erik and any manager who loses their job. It’s a very, very high profile job at a huge club with plenty of scrutiny. It’s never nice to see, but I wish him well and I am sure he will bounce back, as and when he is ready.”
Eddie Howe: “I think it is always sadness when a manager loses his job, you always have empathy. Every club is different. A job at the very highest level never gets easier. I feel for him.”