Erik ten Hag handed major blow as popular coach set to leave Man Utd after ruthless Sir Jim Ratcliffe decision

Erik ten Hag's position at Manchester United could be weakened by the departure of one member of his coaching staff.

Despite beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final last weekend, Ten Hag's position at Man United is hanging in the balance after a disappointing eighth place finish in the Premier League.

INEOS chiefs including Sir Jim Ratcliffe - who purchased a 27.7 per cent stake in the club and took charge of footballing operations - have conducted a full audit of the club, and are expected to make a final decision on Ten Hag's future imminently.

The 54-year-old coach has one year remaining of the contract he signed in 2022.

However, it looks like Ten Hag is set to lose an ally at the club with the expected departure of Benni McCarthy.

The former Porto and Blackburn Rovers striker joined Ten Hag's coaching staff as a striker coach in 2022, but at present his contract - expiring this summer - has not been extended.

McCarthy is a popular member of United's backroom staff, with Marcus Rashford partly crediting the South African's tuition for his 30-goal campaign in 2022-23.

The 46-year-old has not indicated where he will go next, although he has been linked with returning to South Africa with Kaizer Chiefs.

Erik ten Hag- Getty

"If the opportunity arises to coach Kaizer Chiefs, obviously you will have to sit down and think about it. Like I said, you don't say no to an institution," McCarthy has previously said.

Not renewing McCathy's contract is not the only bold move Ratcliffe has made recently.

Earlier this week hundreds of club staff received letters encouraging them to resign if they didn't want to return to office-based working.

The letter read: “Whilst many have ­welcomed our new approach, we are aware that a number of colleagues prefer not to commit to this new way of working and are keen to understand their options.

“With this feedback in mind and the fact that we respect each colleague’s right to choose their approach to work, we will allow those who wish to resign now to claim their bonus early for this season if they cannot work from our offices from 1 June.”