Just like last season, Man Utd's final home game of the season has finished with an Erik Ten Hag speech to rally the troops before an FA Cup final against Manchester City. The Dutchman, who is at risk of losing his job after a poor season, took to the microphone after his side defeated Newcastle 3-2 at Old Trafford.
The result leaves the Reds with a chance of qualifying for the Europa Conference League on the final day of the season, but they will need Newcastle to drop points at Brentford and win themselves at Brighton. Regardless, it's not the position the Man Utd players, staff or fans would have expected to be in at the start of the season when there were talks of a title challenge.
A combination of a severe injury crisis and poor tactical decisions have contributed to a poor campaign but for many Man Utd fans, all will be forgiven if Ten Hag can lead them to victory at Wembley on the 25th of May against Man City.
Erik Ten Hag speech: Old Trafford responds well to manager's words
Ten Hag is clearly aware of the importance of the fixture against City at the end of the month, which was likely the reason for his speech on Thursday night. The Dutchman told supporters inside Old Trafford:
“On behalf of the players, staff and myself I want to thank you all for the brilliant support during this season. As you know it wasn’t an easy season, but one thing remained constant and that was the backing of you for the team.
“This season is not over yet. First we go to Brighton where we travel for three points and then we go to Wembley. And I promise you those players will give everything to get that cup and bring it to Old Trafford.
“We are sure you will be there supporting us – thank you, you are the best supporters in the world.”
🔴 Erik ten Hag: “You are the best supporters in the world. Thanks for your support”.
“I promise you that those players will give EVERYTHING to get the Cup and bring it to Old Trafford”.pic.twitter.com/TJI8Wk4wTb
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 15, 2024
The speech was met with loud cheers and chants of ‘United' from the fans who stayed behind after the match. There were also some Newcastle fans still in the stadium who decided to boo Ten Hag during the speech but that did very little dampen the optimism that the speech gave the Man Utd faithful.