Antony gives Ten Hag the ‘dreaded vote of confidence’

Manchester United winger Antony says that manager Erik ten Hag is the man to lead the club back to greatness, despite a sluggish start to the season.

Man Utd find themselves seventh in the Premier League, having lost six of their opening 14 fixtures.

The Red Devils face a potentially defining month, with Chelsea, Liverpool, West Ham and Aston Villa among their Premier League opponents. On top of this, they must also tackle Bayern Munich in the Champions League – a match that will see them out of Europe if they lose and perhaps not progress in the main competition even if they win.

Ten Hag is under fire ahead of a Wednesday clash with Chelsea, with reports suggesting he has lost half of the dressing room, but Antony, who has yet to record a goal or an assist this season in 769 minutes, has defended the Dutchman.

In an interview with The United Stand, the winger, who was bought by Ten Hag for €95 million in the summer of 2022, was asked about his relationship with the manager following their time together at Ajax.

“My relationship with Ten Hag has always been very good since Ajax. He taught me a lot, and I owe him a lot for my professional evolution,” he said.

“Of course, in football, we end up experiencing ups and downs, which is normal. But I like him, and I think he’s an excellent professional, very capable. It can’t be easy to manage such a huge and historical club as Manchester United.”

Ratcliffe in, Ten Hag out?

Although Antony has given Ten Hag his backing to succeed at Old Trafford, there is a sense that the manager is hanging onto his job by a thread ahead of the arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe as a minority owner imminently.

Ratcliffe is unhappy with the underperformance of many aspects of the sporting side of the club and is dissatisfied with many of the players that Ten Hag has brought to the club.

There is no indication that an immediate change will be made, but the former Ajax man will have to work hard to win over his new boss.

Whether Antony likes it or not, he may soon have a new manager.