Erik ten Hag is reportedly on the verge of being sacked by Bayer Leverkusen – just two Bundesliga games into his reign.
The former Manchester United boss has had a tricky start to life in Germany, collecting just one point from his opening two games.
Leverkusen lost their first game 2-1 at home to Hoffenheim despite taking an early lead through ex-Liverpool defender Jarell Quansah’s goal.
And on Saturday they threw away a 3-1 lead away against 10-man Werder Bremen to draw 3-3 and leave themselves languishing in the bottom half.
German outlet Kicker has reported that he is on the brink of being sacked and the club have issued no statement to support him.
It would be a radical move but expectations have been elevated in Leverkusen after the wildly successful reign of Xabi Alonso, who led them to an unbeaten domestic double and Europa League final in 2023-24.
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Alonso backed that up with a second-placed finish last term and reached the last 16 of the Champions League before leaving for Real Madrid.
Speaking after Saturday’s disappointment, Ten Hag told Sky: ‘the players aren’t ready.
‘We have a new team and some of the players aren’t at all fit enough to play. The team didn’t function at all during the final stage of the game. That’s just the way it is. They need to bring more intensity and get fitter in order to meet my standards.
Ten Hag’s reign got off to a disaster when he lost his first pre-season game 5-1 against Brazilian side Flamengo’s under-20s.
They went on to win three of their next four pre-season games, only losing again to Chelsea, before advancing from the first round of the DFB-Pokal with a 4-0 thrashing of SG.
The Dutchman took charge of Leverkusen in May following a seven-month absence from the game after his sacking by United in October last year.
Ten Hag was dismissed from Old Trafford just months into the season with United lying 14th in the Premier League after winning just four of their opening 14 matches.
His departure came despite the club triggering a one-year contract extension the previous summer.
His contract was extended after he led the club to the FA Cup, having also won the Carabao Cup in his first full season in charge.
He had previously served as coach of Bayern Munich’s second team between 2015 and 2017, when Pep Guardiola led the senior side.
Ten Hag then enjoyed an impressive spell at Utrecht, before leading Ajax to three consecutive Dutch titles and the 2019 Champions League semi-finals.
At Man United, Ten Hag won 70 of his 128 games in charge – a 54.69 per cent win rate – the third-highest win rate of any manager to oversee 100 game or more in the club’s history.
