Erik ten Hag sends clear message to Jason Wilcox after Man Utd’s 4-0 defeat vs Crystal Palace

Jason Wilcox was in the stands at Selhurst Park to watch Manchester United lose 4-0 against Crystal Palace.

The new technical director will likely lead United into the summer transfer market, with Dan Ashworth not expected to be in the building until after the deadline.

Erik ten Hag claimed that he must build an “intense relationship” with Wilcox before the season’s end, with the summer presenting a large important for the club in terms of incomings and outgoings.

Whether or not Ten Hag will be the man at Old Trafford in a month’s time after the FA Cup final is yet to be seen. His audition for INEOS so far isn’t exactly going well.

However, the Dutch manager made his point clear to Wilcox once again after the defeat at Selhurst Park. The issues have been stark in terms of injuries, and the manager believes that they’ve handled the situation well for the most part.

Asked about the support he’s receiving from Wilcox, Ten Hag said: He’s my sounding board, he will be. At the end of the day, I have to do it with the players that are available.

“All season, we have huge problems and by now, this is the fourth defeat in this calendar year, so that’s not a lot and every time, we had huge problems and many times, we sort it out. Today, we didn’t.”

Ten Hag has been largely criticised for the transfer decisions he has made at United. He signed Casemiro, Antony, and Christian Eriksen, for example, three players who look highly unlikely to be at the club for the long term.

However, if the 54-year-old does remain at the club, he will not be leading the transfer situation and he believes that he can succeed at Old Trafford if INEOS support him in the transfer market.

Asked whether he could restore United with signings, Ten Hag added, “Absolutely. The right players are there, so when available, we have a good squad. We miss almost the whole back line, and then we have problems.”