Bruno Fernandes remembers good times with Erik ten Hag as others say time was up

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes offered his thanks to Erik ten Hag after the Dutchman was sacked by the Old Trafford club on Monday in a move several former players and pundits said had long been coming.

Ten Hag’s credit ran out after Sunday’s controversial 2-1 Premier League loss to West Ham – their fourth defeat of the season – left United 14th in the table, with Ruud van Nistelrooy taking interim charge of the club.

Ten Hag leaves Manchester having won two trophies with United, the League Cup in his first season and the FA Cup in his second.

In a post on Instagram showing Fernandes lifting the FA Cup with Ten Hag, the skipper said: “Thanks for everything boss.

“I appreciate the trust and the moments we share together, I wish you all the best in the future.

“Even knowing the last period hasn’t been great from all of us I hope you fans can keep with you the good things the manager has done for our club!”

Ten Hag survived an end-of-season review during the summer with United assessing their options to replace the 54-year-old following an eighth-placed finish, ultimately opting to add another year to his contract.

But despite another £200million being spent in the summer transfer market there has been little sign of improvement, and Monday’s announcement was hardly a shock.

Former United defender Rio Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel: “Am I surprised? No. They kept the man in charge, season kicks in, I actually thought we were starting to see some new signs in the first two or three games, and then we get beat (sic) by Liverpool and never recovered.

“It was like a boxer getting hit and knocked down in the third round and never recovering and getting knocked out, knocked down, every single round on the way to