'Deluded' Ten Hag digging his Man Utd grave with post-Man City comments

Tom Weber

Updated: 4 Mar 2024 20:20 GMT
4 min read

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Erik ten Hag, Man Utd — © IMAGO

Erik ten Hag's post-match comments after Manchester United were defeated by their crosstown rivals show that he is 'deluded', according to Chris Sutton.

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Man Utd yet again lost a Manchester derby when a dominant Man City overturned Marcus Rashford's early wondergoal on Sunday. A brilliant brace from Phil Foden and Erling Haaland's customary goal meant that Pep Guardiola's side made it six wins in the last seven derby fixtures.

Rashford's screamer was the only shot on target the Red Devils mustered in 90 minutes at the Etihad, yet Erik ten Hag insisted after the match that his side are on the right track despite them now being 18 points off their city rivals and 19 off league leaders Liverpool.

Man Utd have lost a whopping 11 Premier League games this term, more than Liverpool, City and Arsenal combined. Having been defeated by Fulham prior to their demolition at the hands of City, even getting into the top four will be an almost insurmountable task.

"I think the performance is very good, only, of course, we are disappointed with the score," Ten Hag said after the game. "The togetherness but also the performance was very good. On another day, we could have won this game."

Ten Hag is 'deluded'

Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton, however, vehemently disagrees with the Dutchman's assessment of the game. "Erik ten Hag is deluded," the former Norwich man said on the It's All Kicking Off podcast. "I think Man United have done a full circle under him."

"His first Manchester derby they lost 6-3 and I predicted a cricket score that day and I went for that again yesterday. Man City are so far ahead of Man United. The biggest concern - and I appreciate managers have to put a positive spin on things - is listening to Ten Hag saying things like 'we are progressing, that was a good performance.'"

"If I was a Man United fan I would really be questioning what the manager is saying and the way the team are playing. The truth is I don't think anyone sees a future for Erik ten Hag beyond this season."