Erik ten Hag ruthlessly told he will be sacked even if he wins FA Cup final

Not even victory in Saturday's FA Cup final could be enough to save Erik ten Hag from the swinging axe at Manchester United.

That's according to Scottish football icon Ally McCoist, who believes the powers that be at Old Trafford are destined to make a change at the helm. United are steep underdogs heading into their Wembley decider against nemeses Manchester City, who were recently crowned Premier League champions for the fourth straight season while the Red Devils finished eighth.

All signs point to a potential landslide win in favour of Pep Guardiola's side, who have won six of the past seven Manchester derbies. But even if Ten Hag & Co do manage to upset the odds, it may not be sufficient to convince United minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe to keep the Dutchman in a job.

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“I don’t even think a win in the FA Cup final will be enough for Erik ten Hag,” former Rangers manager McCoist told talkSPORT BET. “I just think in 99% of cases, new people will want to bring their own men in. I understand people saying that they think INEOS will come in and want to give everyone a clean slate, but I just feel the new owners will want their own manager in.

“I know the buck stops with the manager, but the players really do need to take some responsibility as well for some of the performances throughout the season. I think there will be massive changes at United among the playing staff, and I reckon no matter what happens on Saturday, the manager will be changed too.”

Former Ajax boss Ten Hag was appointed United chief in the summer of 2022 and has won 67 of his 113 games in charge (59%), as well as clinching one League Cup to date. That win percentage is only marginally better than the likes of predecessors Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (55%) or Jose Mourinho (58%).

As for whom McCoist believes would make for a good fit to replace Ten Hag, he suggests Ratcliffe could do a lot worse than hiring the newly available Mauricio Pochettino. Chelsea made the shock decision to sack the Argentinian earlier this week, and it could see a figure long linked with the United job finally get his chance at Old Trafford.

“I could actually see Mauricio Pochettino going to Manchester United,” added McCoist. “It’s a massive job at Old Trafford and he’s been linked with the role for a few years now, so it wouldn’t surprise me to tell you the truth, you could see it happening. He’s shown what he’s able to do with young players at Chelsea and that would benefit a lot of the young talent coming through the ranks who have broken into the first team this season.

“Both United and Chelsea just haven’t got it right in recent years and there needs to be massive changes in the playing squad at Old Trafford as well – I just don’t think a lot of the squad are up to the task. That’s going to take the best part of 18 months to two years to solve – there’s no quick fix.”