An in-depth look at Erik ten Hag’s record as Manchester United manager

Erik ten Hag has been sacked as Manchester United manager after just over two seasons in charge.

Here, the PA news agency looks at the key statistics of his Old Trafford reign.

Winning record

Erik ten Hag ranks second in win rate among United managers since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement (PA graphic)

With 70 wins from 128 games in charge, Ten Hag’s 54.7 per cent win record is actually the second-best of any United manager since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement – behind only Jose Mourinho’s 58.3 per cent.

The Dutchman lost 27.3 per cent of his games though, ahead of only David Moyes (29.4 per cent) and a spell as interim boss for Ralf Rangnick (27.6), as his side struggled to turn defeats into draws – just 23 games, or 18 per cent, ended all square.

A nine-game winning run from November 2022 to January 2023 equalled United’s longest such sequence of the post-Ferguson era – set initially under Mourinho from December 2016 to January 2017.

Though they finished third in Ten Hag’s debut season, their subsequent eighth place was their lowest finish of the Premier League era and they were also bottom of last season’s Champions League group containing Bayern Munich, Galatasaray and FC Copenhagen.

They lie 14th this season and have drawn all three of their Europa League games against FC Twente, Porto and Mourinho’s Fenerbahce.

On the defensive

Goalkeeper Andre Onana has been overworked in his time at Old Trafford (Martin Rickett/PA)

Ten Hag’s side conceded 165 goals in his time in charge, with their average of 1.29 per game topping even the figure in a lost half-season under Rangnick (37 in 29 games, 1.28 per game).

Mourinho (0.84) and Louis van Gaal (0.95) kept their goals against average below one per match, with Moyes at 1.06 and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer 1.09. Overall United had conceded almost exactly a goal a game between Ferguson’s retirement and Ten Hag’s appointment, 499 in 502 games.

They have conceded four or more in a game seven times under Ten Hag, losing 6-3 and 7-0 to bitter rivals Manchester City and Liverpool respectively in his first season while in his second they let in three or more goals on more occasions (15) than they kept clean sheets (13).

United finished 2023-24 with their first negative goal difference of the Premier League era after conceding 58, another unwanted club record, and scoring only 57. They are at -3 this season, scoring eight and conceding 11.

That is also United’s lowest goalscoring tally after nine games of a Premier League season. Only Crystal Palace and bottom club Southampton, with six each, have scored fewer this term while Alejandro Garnacho, with two, is the only United player with more than one league goal to his name.

Trophy cabinet

Ten Hag has won a trophy in each season at Manchester United (Nick Potts/PA)

Ten Hag is only the second post-Ferguson manager with multiple trophies to his name, adding last season’s FA Cup to the 2022-23 Carabao Cup.

Mourinho again stands out as the most successful manager of that era after winning both the League Cup and Europa League in the 2016-17 season to add to a Community Shield.

Van Gaal was sacked in 2016 immediately after winning the FA Cup. Moyes, like Mourinho, won the Community Shield in his first game but the Scot was unable to build on that.

Ferguson won 38 trophies in 27 years at United, with his 13 Premier League titles alone exceeding the club’s total trophy count in 11 seasons since his departure.

Ten Hag previously won three Eredivisie titles and two Dutch Cups as Ajax manager.