Local Manchester United fans show no remorse, welcome Ten Hag's sacking

KUALA LUMPUR - The sentiments and heat of Erik Ten Hag's sacking as Manchester United manager after more than two years in charge of the Red Devils squad was also strongly felt in Malaysia by local fans.

Manchester United Fan Club (FC) Malaysia president Raf Yaakob is of the view that the sacking of the 54-year-old coach from the Netherlands is a reasonable move following United's poor performance since the beginning of this season.

"This is expected after a series of defeats by United, even though the new management gave Ten Hag a chance, but there was still no result, so it was appropriate for him to be sacked. They (MU) should now be under interim manager Ruud Van Nistelrooy. We want to see if the players are not performing well or the manager.

"So whoever becomes United manager, we will see the changes made with the existing players. Hopefully United will continue to rise," he said when contacted by Bernama yesterday.

Meanwhile, a passionate fan Lazarus Rokk voiced his excitement, calling it "the best news I have heard in my football life since Erik ten Hag took the reins at Old Trafford," reflecting the sentiment of many die-hard supporters who have eagerly awaited signs of the team’s comeback.

"It's true, every manager needs a bit of time to get his football philosophies into play to turn fortunes around. But what we hardcore fans, would have liked to see is a shape of the game, a system that was going to be the base that he was going to build his players on," said the former New Straits Times Sports Editor.

Meanwhile, Manchester United's Facebook post regarding Ten Hag’s sacking received more than 72 thousand likes, 18 thousand comments and 10 thousand shares after two hours of uploading.

Facebook account owner Sukri Rasidin thinks the decision is justified, but the players also need to improve their performance, especially in terms of fitness.

"There are also a lot of players who can be offloaded. Fitness is not good. A lot of walking from running. It's modern football. Speed and Agility is key," he wrote in the comment section of the post.

Earlier, United announced the decision to part ways with Ten Hag following a disappointing start to the season.

The club’s struggles culminated into a 2-1 defeat to West Ham in their last fixture played over the weekend, leaving them languishing in 14th place in the Premier League with only three wins from nine matches.

United also finds itself in a precarious position in the Europa League, currently sitting 21st out of 36 teams after drawing all three of their matches.

In the wake of Ten Hag's departure, Ruud van Nistelrooy, who has served as Ten Hag's assistant since last summer, has been appointed as interim manager. - BERNAMA