It is almost two weeks from the day that Manchester United won the FA Cup defeating Manchester City in a memorable encounter.
The decision on the manager’s future, which was expected soon after the game, has still not been made official and public.
Contrasting reports every day make it clear that not many have an idea of which way INEOS leans despite their review taking so long.
In the meantime, the club’s transfer activity has reached a standstill, with any player understandably thinking twice before committing themselves to the club before they know who will be the person in charge of picking them on a matchday.
Fans are frustrated and rightly so, as most believe that clarity on this matter is paramount before the club can truly begin planning for the new era, be it under Ten Hag or someone else.
It is believed that if he is to be sacked, then spending precious time dithering is just wasting it away and if he is staying, then uncertainty over the club is hardly ideal ahead of a pivotal window.
However, there is one big thing that is not getting nearly as much attention and might well be playing a huge role in causing this delay.
The contract factor
Erik ten Hag’s contract at United ends in 2025, 12 months from now. Therefore, even if the decision is made that the Dutchman will stay at the club, it presents INEOS with a unique challenge.
Everyone has seen what happens when players know a manager is there for the short term. Ralf Rangnick’s instructions fell on deaf ears in 2021/22 when he took over on an interim basis from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Ahead of what is expected to be a huge rebuild, it is a recipe for disaster for a manager to have a say in the project who might not be here in 12 months.
Therefore, a big reason why INEOS could be dithering on this decision is that if they announce Ten Hag will stay at the club, they will have to award him a new contract.
Ten Hag staying this season is an idea that an increasing number of fans are warming up to, especially as a squad and executive rebuild is on the horizon and the manager offers stability.
However, has Ten Hag really done enough this season, mitigating factors and all, to give him a contract extension beyond next year?
Not many will say yes and therein lies the conundrum. It is far easier for a club to let a player run into his last year of a contract and challenge him to prove his worth.
The scenario is different for a manager in the same position. So, the decision for INEOS is to effectively tell Ten Hag to walk and start from scratch, or to give a new contract to the man who engineered United’s lowest-ever Premier League finish.
It is not as simple as “stay or go”. It is a “long-term commitment or leave immediately”. There is no middle ground here and when the options are two extreme ends of a spectrum, it is likely to cause a delay than not.
One can turn around and say “Just sack the manager if he doesn’t perform after a contract extension” but, thanks to the Glazers, United have to be penny-pinching for PSR and FFP rules and splashing millions to get rid of a manager is hardly the ideal way to go about it.
That is the situation the club finds themselves in. There is no “soft landing” when it comes to a club the size of United, it’s just a baptism of fire and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s has come in less than six months of taking charge.
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