Ten Hag sack: Roy Keane makes Man Utd axe intentions clear as Rooney drops scandalous claim on ‘injured’ stars

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been told why Manchester United must not sack Erik ten Hag this summer – but a bombshell update on their injured players made by Wayne Rooney has cast serious doubts over his future at Old Trafford.

It’s been a hugely underwhelming season at Old Trafford with Manchester United now in serious danger of it becoming their worst ever Premier League campaign. They have already lost a record 14 times in the league this season and currently only have 54 points, with only two wins in their last two games (at home to Newcastle and away to Brighton), ensuring they don’t suffer their lowest ever points tally in the competition.

That currently stands at the 58 they stumbled to back in the 2021/22 season – the year before Ten Hag was appointed as manager. However, while they are through to a second successive FA Cup final under his reign, his chances of retaining his job as manager seem to be sinking fast as the weeks and games go by.

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TEAMtalk was the first to exclusively break the news back in March that a number of Man Utd players had effectively turned their backs on the manager and expected him to be sacked once the current season comes to an end.

His chances of retaining his job at Old Trafford very much rest on the shoulders of new minority shareholder Ratcliffe and his soon-to-be-appointed sporting director Dan Ashworth, who will listen carefully to the full audit currently being undertaken by new technical director Jason Wilcox.

Man Utd: Roy Keane delivers Ten Hag sack verdict

Sadly though the stats do look damning and another defeat on Sunday – this time a 1-0 loss to title-chasing Arsenal – means it looks unlikely Ten Hag will be allowed to continue.

And with a lack of fight and passion on the pitch there for all to see, it now appears increasing certain that the axe will fall.

However, Roy Keane is adamant that Ten Hag should be allowed to continue in the role next season, making it clear he is blaming the players for the club’s current predicament.

“I hope he’s given more time,” Keane told Sky Sports when asked if United should sack Ten Hag.

“He’s an experienced manager,” the Irishman then explained. “(It’s) certainly not easy getting interviewed after the game where the stats for this team are so bad, in terms of the record defeats, where they are in the table, their struggles in Europe…

“Yeah they have a cup final coming up in a few weeks, it’s a tough interview. He’s trying to stay positive, tough questions he has been asked about the players behind him, is he tactically up to it.

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“(Is he) tactically up to it? I would like to think so. I think there has been genuine problems at the club, the injuries, he’s pretty honest with that side of it. But the more games you are losing and when you are eighth in the table, I suppose you end up losing that belief.

“But I would never sit in the studio and think: ‘I hope the manager should lose his job’ or anything like that. I hope he is given more time. When they get to the summer they can regroup and restructure the club, whatever that may be.

“There are huge problems at the club but I hope he is given a chance to get things right, because last year there were some positives, you have to be honest with that. But there are huge challenges coming up and he is under huge pressure.”

Wayne Rooney drops bombshell update on injured Man Utd stars

Ten Hag has been unlucky with injuries this season and they went into the Arsenal game with Casemiro once again deployed as an emergecy centre-half, this time alongside Jonny Evans, which was their 14th different central defensive partnership of the season.

However, also missing from the match were Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford, Lisandro Martinez and Harry Maguire, making his life considerably harder.

Rooney, though, sat alongside Keane as a pundit has made a shock allegation about those currently on the treatment table.

“Some of the injured Manchester United players are fit to play,” he stated.

When asked about Ten Hag’s future, the club’s all-time top scorer added: “When you’re losing games in the way they’re losing games, there’s going to be big questions asked.

“I think the players have to look at themselves, when you’ve got a manager talking about attitudes and players not being right to play for Manchester United, that’s a massive insult. If I see my manager saying that, there’s no way I would let that ride and ride until the end of the season.

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“I think some players are just trying to get to the end of the season, that’s my opinion on it. So I feel for him, but that’s his job to make sure the players are right.”

Asked if he feels the players are performing for Ten Hag, Rooney replied: “If they are, I don’t think they’re showing it very well. The performances, and there are some good players in that squad, are way below par.

“I would personally hope they do give him [Ten Hag] time, there are a lot of problems with recruitment, it hasn’t been good for a few years.

“I hope he gets time to do it right. But we saw it in 2016 when Louis van Gaal lost his job [after winning the FA Cup], so you never know.”