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.

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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,