According to the latest report, Ten Hag is eager to keep the fans on his side as speculation over his future at the club grows. Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Avram Glazer were both there at Wembley Stadium to witness United squeak past Coventry, and the INEOS chief has been busy acquiring new players to fill key roles at the club.

Ten Hag shown his furious side earlier this week when asked whether he understood the bad response to the Coventry performance. “No. “Absolutely not,” he said. “You earned plenty, but one of the queries was, ‘Is it embarrassing?’ No, your response was humiliating.

“It’s the remarks. Top football is about results; we got it to the final and earned it, not only for this game but also for the others. We lost control for 20 minutes and had horrible luck when it ended 3-2 and then 3-3. Ultimately, we were quite fortunate. Penalties were extremely excellent, and we got it to the final, which is a tremendous accomplishment. Twice in two years is fantastic. For me as a manager, four cup finals in four years. The remarks are disgraceful.