Hours before confirmation finally came through that the threat of the sack has passed, Erik ten Hag sat at the dinner table in Ibiza opposite his wife Bianca, crisp white top unbuttoned and a glass of red wine in hand.
Perhaps his mind goes back to last month when, after a humiliating 4-0 loss to Crystal Palace, many had written him off. It was, the club legend felt, the nadir of his position.
When Michael Oliseās second goal, and Crystal Palaceās fourth, went past Andre Onana, the final touch looked set to be added to Manchester Unitedās Ten Hag obit.
The doubters, more vocal than ever, have had enough with four games left in the season. Ten Hag, they say, is finished. Another Manchester United boss has reached his expiry date in two years.
However, after an unexpected FA Cup final success against fierce rivals Manchester City ā which saw them go in as 8/1 underdogs ā Ten Hag miraculously stuck to his job.
Sports Mail see five reasons why the Dutch have avoided the sack.
Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag can enjoy a glass of wine on holiday
Sir Jim Ratcliffe (left) and Ineos have confirmed the Dutchman will remain as United manager
1. YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
The strongest case for the defense when it comes to Ten Hag rests with the development of Unitedās young players.
United is a club that prides itself on home-grown talent and the Dutchman, despite being forced to move down the youth ranks due to injury problems (more on that shortly), has shown confidence and a willingness to offer academy stars. chance.
He has helped elevate Kobbie Mainoo into a player who is pushing to start for England at this summerās Euros, while Alejandro Garnacho has stepped up as one of the first names on the team sheet.
Ten Hag kept their faith in Hojlund during a difficult period, while he also helped bring Willy Kambwala, Ethan Wheatley, Harry Amass, Toby Collyer, Louis Jackson and Habeeb Ogunneye into the first team group.
āWe have a lot of good young players,ā Ten Hag said in early March.
āWe need to develop skills, be in a team feeling and build a stronger relationship with Manchester United, a real winning attitude. This is the basis for winning trophies.ā
With greater restrictions on spending and Ineos looking to have a greater sense of home for the team going forward, few candidates could provide a better showcase for youth development than Ten Hag.
Kobbie Mainoo is a shining light for United who has made a breakthrough in the first team
Man United recognize the work Ten Hag is doing with Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho (right)
2. NIGHTMARE injury
After the win over Brighton on the final day of the Premier League season Ten Hag laughed it off with Mail Sport when asked to reflect on the injury crisis in defence.
āNightmareā is how he chose to describe it. No team in the Premier League suffered more injuries last season and Ten Hag were often left without three of their four first-choice defenders.
Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia have both missed significant periods of the season ā the entire campaign in Malaciaās case ā which leaves United without a recognized left-back.
Lisandro Martinez, Ten Hagās signing and Unitedās best centre-back, has been ruled out for the rest of the season, while Raphael Varane, Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof and Jonny Evans have all struggled with injury.
Lisandro Martinez suffered more injuries during the season and was missed in defence
There were more than 60 injury cases for Ten Hag to deal with, which he claimed he had never experienced in his managerial career.
During the extensive review Ineos accepted that never before just how severe the problem of injury and with a plan in place to inspect the medical department to prevent any recurrence, they are keen to see how Ten Hag gets in complete full.
With many of the starters returning for the FA Cup final, there was a real difference in beating City.
A clean bill of health can help Ten Hag start next season on a clean slate with superiors.
Mauricio Pochettino (left), and Thomas Frank, (right), are understood to have held talks in the week before the FA Cup final ā but Ineos opted to stick with Ten Hag
Just last week, former Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel was entertained in Monaco by Ratcliffe
3. SIGNINGS BACKED come good
How long Ten Hag stays at United may depend on the performance of his players up front.
New signings made for the long-term end of the season take, this support, significantly more than expected to bed in.
Andre Onana was brought in as the new No.1 in place of David de Gea but took six months to find his feet ā costing United the Champions League group stage in the process with a number of high-profile mistakes ā while young striker Rasmus Hojlund looked set to pick up injuries as he found a rhythm.
Mason Mount arrived as the Ten Hagās No. 1 target last summer, but he missed the season due to injury; the full benefit of these signs, he said, is yet to come.
āIām sure heāll be a key player,ā Ten Hag said Sports Mail from Mount back in March.
Itās been a tough start to life at Old Trafford for Mason Mount as he battles injury
āHe has no chance to prove this. But he would be a fantastic player for Manchester United.
āItās unfortunate and disappointing for him, but also for us when you have a class player like that in the middle and you canāt play. Heās been injured as we all know.
āHe hasnāt had time to get into his rhythm but Iām sure if heās fit and heāll play and get into that rhythm, heāll contribute to Manchester Unitedās success, Iām sure.ā
With the bedding in place at the moment, Ten Hagās hopes depend on the changing transfer market proving hits, rather than misses.
The feel good factor of the FA Cup and the surge in fan support clearly put Ratcliffe on the head
4. NEW STRUCTURE BACKED TO HELP
While undermining ā their bosses are actively shopping for a successor ā there is a sense at Old Trafford that the new structure, which United believe could be best in class, could help ease the workload at Ten Hag.
Omar Berrada arrived in mid-July as CEO; Jason Wilcox has been in the position as Technical Director; a deal to bring in Dan Ashworth as Sports Director is underway; United believe they are at the tip of a football structure that can turn their fortunes around.
Arguably, Ten Hagās influence on transfers has been stripped away and there could be a shift to the title of āhead coachā, rather than āmanagerā ā the Ā£400 million he has spent since his arrival is said to have raised eyebrows. Ratcliffe and Co.
āConstructiveā was the conversation this week between Ten Hag and Ineos. Frankly there is no doubt. It will be in the Dutchman slot into the new system that has been built around him.
With less responsibility off the field, Ten Hag will ā the bosses hope ā be able to focus more on coaching and, thus, produce better results.
5. UNINSPIRING ALTERNATIVES
As Ten Hag continues to bat away the question of the season he wore ā he reaffirmed his commitment, vowed to ākeep fightingā and said common sense should allow him more time ā Ineos held not-so-secret talks with potential replacements.
Former United coach Kieran McKenna was an interesting option before he committed to stay at Ipswich.
Brentford boss Thomas Frankās representative held talks ahead of the FA Cup final.
Winning the FA Cup seems to be important and a new structure has been put in place to help them
Ratcliffe (right) will now offer a new contract to Ten Hag (left) in a show of refusal
Gareth Southgate, a favorite of Sir Dave Brailsford and sporting director Dan Ashworth, cannot commit before Euro 2024.
Even as recently as last week, Ratcliffe sat down with Thomas Tuchel in Monaco to hear his vision for United should he get the job. The German will take a break from football and United, at least for now, are not an option.
Mauricio Pochettino has admirers at Ineos but he has been busy sorting out a fee from Chelsea after he was sacked by the London club.
A comprehensive review which, in the end, led Ineos to determine that none of the available candidates was a clear upgrade to Ten Hag.
