When criticizing Erik ten Hag, the manager of Manchester United, pundits overlook two crucial details.

Erik ten Hag, the manager of Man United, has received a lot of criticism lately, but not all of it has taken into account circumstances outside his control.

It is difficult to imagine that Manchester United is now sixth in the Premier League table, five points out of the top four, after five losses in their first 12 Premier League games this season.

It is reasonable to say that, for United so far this season, the lows have outnumbered the highs as we take a break for our third international break of the year before we resume this coming Saturday. They have put up a number of unimpressive performances and experienced some humiliating outcomes.

Similar to other clubs, the manager has taken the brunt of the blame when things do not go as planned on the field. Though not necessarily by the majority of United fans, Erik ten Hag has been publicly chastised in recent weeks by certain media outlets, including a number of former players who are now well-known pundits.

Last Monday, Jermaine Jenas, a former midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur and England, became the latest ex-player to criticize Ten Hag, delivering a biting critique of the Dutchman on national radio. He said the former Ajax manager was “not good enough” for United, implying that in order for the team to advance, a new manager had to be installed.

“I don’t see players who have chucked the towel in, I just see players who don’t know what to do,” Jenas told talkSPORT. Cohesion is lacking.

“In my opinion, he is insufficient. His management approach doesn’t seem to have anything that would lead me to believe he’s the ideal guy to lead them in the proper path.

One major issue for me is that I’m unable to understand his strategy based on the guys he is purchasing. Instead of buying what’s best for Manchester United, he’s only buying what he knows.”

The amount of injuries United has had to cope with this season may be related to a lack of cohesiveness. Ten Hag is losing players as quickly as he recovers one, and the Reds are presently unable to end a never-ending spiral of injuries.

With as many injuries as United have had since August, any team, no matter how big or what division they play in, would find it difficult to meet expectations and be reliable. For instance, Ten Hag’s starting back-four has only been used twice this season due to the long-term injuries to Luke Shaw and Lisandro Martinez, both of whom were crucial players last year.

Along with minor personal problems, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Raphael Varane, and Sergio Reguilon have all battled illness. To put it plainly, Ten Hag has had an awful lot of bad luck this season; no other Premier League manager has seen the same amount of disruption.

No other Premier League manager has also had to deal with the background distraction of a high-profile takeover drama for precisely a full year. Even while the Dutch coach and his players would downplay rumors that there are outside distractions influencing the team, it makes sense that the events of the previous year would have affected team morale. At last, clarity is almost here, as Sir Jim Ratcliffe is about to acquire a quarter of the company.

Once INEOS’s transaction closes, it should signal the start of an exciting new era at Old Trafford, as early signs point to Ratcliffe leading a major reorganization of the team’s leadership. There will undoubtedly be a sense of community when football brains collaborate closely with Ten Hag while adhering to the same plan.

Ten Hag’s chances of executing his plan and chosen playing style should also increase as a result. Even if it’s reasonable that concerns have been expressed regarding United’s hiring practices when the Dutchman was in charge, he wasn’t always given the resources he needed to finish the job. To assist him carry out his plan, he had hoped to bring in players like Harry Kane and Frenkie de Jong.

With Ten Hag, who brought the feel-good factor back to Old Trafford, anticipated to expand on last season’s accomplishments, expectations were understandably increased at the beginning of this term after the progress that was made last season, winning a trophy and finishing in the top four. His aspirations of accomplishing so have been severely hampered by many injury difficulties.

It is therefore a poor assertion, ignoring numerous elements, many of which are outside his control, to imply that Ten Hag has brought United as far as he can. United has found success in the past by going through the cycle of hiring and firing managers, isn’t that right?

Everyone knows in their hearts that Ten Hag is deserving of more time.