- Erik ten Hag will take charge of his 125th game against Manchester United on Sunday
- But former Chelsea and West Ham star Joe Cole believes he will be sacked soon
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Joe Cole will be ‘surprised’ if Erik ten Hag is still in charge of Manchester United at Christmas.
Ten Hag has supervised 124 matches since he left Ajax for the Red Devils in May 2022. United won 69 of those games, but also drew 21 and lost 34 – including last weekend’s 3-0 home defeat to Tottenham.
Ten Hag’s men drew 3-3 with Porto in the Europa League on Thursday, after being 2-0 ahead in that match and then trailing 3-2.
Next up is a visit to Aston Villa on Sunday and Cole fully expects Ten Hag to suffer the 35th defeat of his United career.
A loss at Villa Park would leave United with just seven points after the first seven Premier League games of the current season.
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is under pressure after a poor start to the season
Ten Hag in the photo in Porto, where his team led 2-0, trailed 3-2 and drew 3-3 on Thursday
United’s players looked dejected last weekend after losing 3-0 to Tottenham Hotspur
“I’m looking forward to a Villa win, I don’t see anything else,” former West Ham and Chelsea playmaker Cole told TNT Sports on Saturday.
‘We have been here before with Erik ten Hag’s team, when they stood on the ropes and got a result, even recently. It’s happened so much.
“I just think this could be the end of the road for him. It’s not a big part of our job [as pundits] when a manager is in trouble and it is their livelihood.
‘But I look at Man United and where they want to go, and at Erik ten Hag. I just think I’d be surprised if he’s there for Christmas.’
Ten Hag has been criticized in recent weeks for the way he has managed United striker Marcus Rashford.
The Dutchman became embroiled in a war of words with Jamie Redknapp last month after the Sky Sports pundit suggested he had dropped Rashford against Crystal Palace over a disciplinary issue.
Ten Hag’s decision to take Rashford off the field at half-time in Porto, after he had provided a goal and an assist, also raised eyebrows.
Former West Ham and Chelsea star Joe Cole was at Selhurst Park on Saturday as part of the TNT Sports punditry team for Crystal Palace’s match against Liverpool in the Premier League
Cole (right) was accompanied by Peter Crouch (left) and both had a lot to say about Ten Hag
Peter Crouch, alongside Cole on TNT Sports on Saturday, added: ‘Some of the decisions, the Rashford thing, I don’t think he’s helping himself.
‘Being 2-0 up and then 3-2 down, there is a lack of control in the matches. It is now his team, he has worked with most of the players in the starting eleven before. It just doesn’t look good right now.”