Man United fans have something to cheer about again

When Jose Mourinho delivered the Carabao Cup and Europa League double in the 2016-17 season, the celebrations among success-starved Manchester United fans were relatively muted.

Despite the long-awaited delivery of some silverware to a dusty trophy cabinet, there were still lingering doubts about whether the Red Devils were really on their way back to the top. It was a case of “yes, but…”.

The team’s conservative style of play was simply not the sumptuous fare the United faithful had gleefully lapped up during the majestic reign of Alex Ferguson. There were also concerns about the contributions and the divisive roles played by Mourinho together with top-dollar signings Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku.

Those doubts were soon proven true as a brooding Mourinho was sacked midway through the next season after a pitiful haul of just 26 points from 17 league games. Lukaku departed soon afterwards followed by Pogba two years later.

After the disastrous reigns of club legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Ragnick, United, despite having a quality squad of top players that would be the envy of many a leading club, were going nowhere fast.

Such was the perilous state of the 20-times league champions, where frustrated diehard fans had taken to organising regular demonstrations against the club’s owners, the US-based Glazer family, that Louis van Gaal, who won the FA Cup with United in May 2016, advised Erik ten Hag not to take the job at Old Trafford when it was offered to him early last year.

“I think Ten Hag is a great coach; I said that multiple times,” Van Gaal opined of his fellow Dutchman. “A great coach is good for Man United. But Man United is a commercial club. Those are difficult choices for a coach. As a coach, you should prefer a football club.”

The 53-year-old former central defender won a second-tier league title with De Graafschap in the 1990-91 season, had his own ideas, and was confident of his ability to turn things around at a club ranked the third most valuable in the world after Real Madrid and Barcelona by Forbes magazine.

An opening-day home defeat against Brighton followed by a chastening 4-0 away thumping by Brentford would have opened the former Ajax manager’s eyes to the magnitude of the task facing him, but that defeat to the Bees proved to be a defining moment in his resuscitation of United.  

Immediately after the humiliation in west London the determined Dutchman stamped his authority on the team by ordering them to a Sunday morning 13.8km run — the distance United were outrun by Thomas Frank’s team the previous day. Ten Hag completed the run with his players to emphasise that they were all in it together.

In the short seven months that he has been in charge at Old Trafford, the progress that the Dutchman has made in transforming an underperforming giant has been nothing short of phenomenal.

While many doubters and trembling opposition fans are happy to write off the Carabao Cup as an insignificant trophy — until their team wins it, of course — Sunday’s victory over Newcastle United has a very different feel to when Mourinho lifted the trophy six years ago. This time the positivity seems to be written in ink rather than being tentatively pencilled in.

Ten Hag realises the importance of winning silverware, even if it may not be the most prestigious trophy on offer. He believes it will play a big role in creating a winning culture. 

The team is playing with confidence and the manager is fast restoring that United belief that they will not be beaten. They entered Sunday’s clash having lost just once in their previous 20 games, sitting third in the Premier League and still very much in a title race that promises to deliver an intriguing finale.

A midweek victory over La Liga leaders Barcelona in the Europa League followed by cup success just three days later has proven United are squarely on the right track.

In addition to that 13.8km Sunday run, Ten Hag has firmly established himself as the boss of the dressing room by disciplining errant players without fear or favour. Alejandro Garnacho, Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcus Rashford have all found that out this season.

It’s no surprise that his emphasis on proactive football stems from his period working with Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich when he was coach of Bayern Munich II between 2013-15. His coaching ability was already recognised during his time in Germany, where he was nicknamed “Mini Pep”.

United are expected to keep alive their hopes of a quadruple with a home win over West Ham United in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Wednesday night before preparing for Sunday’s clash against Liverpool at Anfield.

Whether they win any more silverware this season is immaterial. Erik ten Hag has established a solid enough foundation to restore hope among the United faithful that the return of the good times is on the horizon.