ERIK TEN HAG was always doomed for the sack this year thanks to a spooky omen.
The Dutchman was finally relieved of his duties after being given a stay of execution for the start of the season.
ReutersErik ten Hag was hit with a Man Utd FA Cup curse[/caption]
United chiefs considered firing Ten Hag in the summer before giving him a two-year deal which guarantees him a pay off worth £15million.
The Red Devils suffered their worst Premier League finish last term in eighth but Ten Hag saved his job by winning the FA Cup.
However the 2-1 win over rivals Manchester City meant Ten Hag was perhaps always destined for the sack this year, thanks to a strange omen.
The last United manager to win the FA Cup, Louis van Gaal, was also sacked after winning the FA Cup final 2-1.
Bizarrely, Tommy Docherty met the same fate after winning the 1977 FA Cup final by the same scoreline.
Fans picked up on the peculiar coincidence, with one saying: “Spooky fact. It’s almost as if they decided against sacking him in the summer so they could deploy it this week ”
Stats prove the writing may have been on the wall long before the FA Cup final, as Ten Hag’s win rate at Old Trafford plummeted following the 7-0 loss to Liverpool in March 2023.
Prior to the defeat at Anfield, Ten Hag’s United had boasted a 73 per cent win rate, losing just six games over the course of the manager’s first 41 matches in all competitions.
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But things started to look bleak after their 7-0 embarrassment with the win percentage plummeting to just 46 per cent from that game onwards.
Including the 7-0 defeat, United lost 29 games in 87 fixtures from March 2023 until last weekend.