Erik ten Hag's last act as Manchester United manager was a brutal one as details emerge around sacking

Erik ten Hag's final 'official' act as Manchester United manager came in the aftermath of their 2-1 defeat to West Ham – and it was a cruel end to his two-and-a-half year tenure.

In the final stages at West Ham's London Stadium, referee David Coote initially decided against awarding a penalty when Danny Ings went down under a challenge from Matthijs de Ligt.

For a short while, it looked like United would go on and secure a point but following a VAR check, it was recommended that Coote should overturn his decision.

Jarrod Bowen would convert from 12 yards to hand United their fourth league defeat of the season and understandably, Ten Hag cut a dejected figure on the touchline as more points slipped away.

After the full-time whistle, the United manager was convinced he could turn their season around. "In this moment definitely the luck is not on our side," he said.

"It is not about me. Last season was not different but in the end we turned it around. We are so determined it will be the same again. We have to turn it around and we will."

But on Monday morning, the 54-year-old was relieved of his duties as the club confirmed that Ruud van Nistelrooy would take interim charge whilst a permanent head coach is recruited.

The decision was made shortly after Erik ten Hag conducted a pre-match press conference ahead of Wednesday's EFL Cup clash against Leicester City.

As pointed out by Manchester Evening News reporter Samuel Luckhurst, Ten Hag's last act was to conduct a press conference for a match he won't manage in; an unfortunate end to a spell that featured two domestic trophies – the Carabao Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup in 2024.

Sky Sports reporter Ben Ransom also commented on Ten Hag's final press conference, saying: "Events seem to have overtaken Erik Ten Hag’s embargoed pre-Leicester City press conference… still we’ll bring you those quotes at 1.30pm tomorrow."

In regards to details surrounding his sacking, The Guardian suggest Ten Hag needed to win at least one of last week’s fixtures against Fenerbahce and West Ham.

Image credit: Getty

They just about held on to a 1-1 draw against Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce on Thursday evening before Sunday's agonising 2-1 defeat to West Ham.

The above report suggests United were 'eager' to give Ten Hag time as they wanted 'continuity amid periods of change' but it seems that disappointing result in East London was the final straw.

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