Erik Ten Hag was in a boastful mood after leading Manchester United to a 2-1 win over Manchester City to win the FA Cup trophy at Wembley on Saturday afternoon.
The Dutch manager ended a tough week with his second trophy of his topsy-turvy reign at Old Trafford after speculations about his future before the game.
He led Manchester United to their lowest ever finish in the history of the Premier League with a negative goal difference, and also a bottom place finish in a Champions League group which consisted of Copenhagen, Galatasaray and Bayern Munich.
However, Ten Hag has now qualified Manchester United for the Europa League next season by virtue of their victory over their arch rivals.
He was unperturbed when asked about his future amidst reports of his sacking after the final regardless of the result.
Ten Hag said: “The only thing I’m doing is preparing my team, developing my team. This is a project for me. When I came in I can say it was a mess. Now we are better. We are not where we want to be.
“Football is about winning trophies. I want to play the best football, dynamic, attacking football but in the end you have to win games and trophies. That’s the mentality we brought in. This was our one opportunity and we did it. I‘m very proud of the players and staff,
“Two trophies in two years is not bad, three finals in two years is not bad,
“If they don’t want me, then I go somewhere else to win trophies because that is what I do.”
Ten Hag led the Red Devils to the Carabao Cup in his first season in charge and also to the final of the FA Cup, which they lost to Manchester City in the 2022-23 season.
He showered praises on his players for their impressive showing against Manchester City.
Ten Hag said: “As always the rivalry is always there and it is always much more important when you play against a team from your own city. For us it was not about this, it was about proving a point after having such a bad year with so many setbacks and all the injuries and every time we had to survive. The team showed so much resilience and I am so proud of them.”
Manchester United are the lowest ranked team to win the FA Cup since Arsenal under Mikel Arteta in 2019-20 (also 8th).
‘Two Trophies In 24 Months Is Not Bad’ – Ten Hag Boasts After Leading Manchester United To FA Cup Glory is first published on The Whistler Newspaper