Erik ten Hag told what could cost him Man Utd job – 'he'd have been alright otherwise'

Sam Allardyce has outlined the key reason why Erik ten Hag will likely lose his job at Manchester United.

The Dutchman is expected to be relieved of his duties despite masterminding a 2-1 win over Manchester City in the FA Cup final. United have been torrid all season and ended up eighth in the Premier League, their lowest finish in the competition's history.

A big reason for their struggles is that their major summer signings failed to hit the ground running, and those who were bought last year under Ten Hag suffered jarringly-significant dips in form this season.

READ MORE: Fernandes makes Ten Hag admission after United FA Cup win vs City

READ MORE: Wayne Rooney hails Manchester United wonderkid Kobbie Mainoo for FA Cup final display

Speaking on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, former Premier League boss Allardyce reckons Ten Hag's job would have been safe if it weren't for the fact Sir Jim Ratcliffe came in. And after a large chunk of the players that Ten Hag pushed the club to sign ended up falling short of expectations, his fate looks sealed despite the Wembley joy.

"The big responsibility is how many of the new players signed by Man Utd are his responsibility, or is he responsible for? Because if he's responsible for them he hasn't done very well," Allardyce said prior to the cup final. "That's Man Utd's big, big problem for the last 10 years now."

Asked about the decision on Ten Hag's future already being made irrelevant of what happened in the FA Cup final, Allardyce quickly answered: "That's only because Sir Jim Ratcliffe has come in and Dave Brailsford. If before that, and it was just the Glazers still, I think he'd be alright (still be in the job) next season, because he's got to another cup final, and he got to a cup final last year."

All three of the Red Devils' big summer signings this season struggled initially, and although Rasmus Hojlund and Andre Onana steadied their wobbling ships, Mason Mount has really looked out of sorts. Elsewhere, Casemiro and Antony, both of whom arrived last summer, have had dreadful campaigns while the likes of Lisandro Martinez and Tyrell Malacia, two more players Ten Hag pushed for in 2022, have spent most (or in Malacia's case, all) of the season on the treatment table.

Heading into Saturday's FA Cup final, reports emerged that United would be parting ways with Ten Hag no matter the result at Wembley. Though given the quality of their performance, the former Ajax boss will have likely convinced a few people that he deserves to stay on.

That said, the only man he needs to convince is Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the club's new minority owner who has been handed control of all footballing matters by the Glazers.

Allardyce spent roughly 30 years in management, racking up 541 Premier League games in the process (only four individuals have more). He's best remembered for stints in charge of Bolton, Blackburn, Newcastle, West Ham, Everton and Sunderland, the latter of which landed him the England job in 2016. However, he lasted just two months in the role. He also managed West Brom, Crystal Palace and Leeds.