FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - FA Cup - Final - Manchester City v Manchester United - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - May 25, 2024 Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag celebrates with the trophy after winning the FA Cup REUTERS/Hannah Mckay/File Photo
(Reuters) - Erik ten Hag has signed a new contract with Manchester United to extend his stay at Old Trafford until 2026, the Premier League club said on Thursday as the Dutchman gets another chance to restore the record 20-times champions to former glories.
There had been speculation he would be sacked after United ended eighth last season -- their lowest ever finish in the Premier League -- and with British billionaire and INEOS chairman Jim Ratcliffe taking charge of football operations.
A shock victory over champions Manchester City in the FA Cup final, however, earned the 54-year-old Ten Hag a lifeline,
"Looking back at the past two years, we can reflect with pride on two trophies and many examples of progression from where we were when I joined," he said in a statement.
"We must also be clear that there is still lots of hard work ahead to reach the levels expected of Manchester United, which means challenging for English and European titles.
"In my discussions with the club, we have found complete unity in our vision for reaching those goals, and we are strongly committed to making that journey together."
Ten Hag's contract had been set to expire at the end of the 2024-25 season but denying Manchester City a domestic double and qualifying for the Europa League earned him another chance.
"With two trophies in the past two seasons, Erik has reinforced his record as one of the most consistently successful coaches in European football," the club's Sporting Director Dan Ashworth said in a statement.
"While the club's review of last season highlighted areas of improvement, it also reached a clear conclusion that Erik was the best partner for us to work with in driving up standards and outcomes.
"This group of players and staff have already shown they are capable of competing at the top level; now they have to do it more consistently."
Despite winning two trophies, results and performances have fallen away dramatically despite more than 400 million pounds being spent on new players since Ten Hag took charge.
United struggled early in his first season, but Ten Hag instilled a sense of togetherness that had been missing since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
They enjoyed a nine-match winning run in all competitions, lifting the League Cup and finishing third in the Premier League.
The second season was much worse but United's fan base largely stayed loyal to Ten Hag and sung his name loudly at Wembley in the Cup final as their team produced the best performance of his spell in charge.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman, Rohith Nair and Lori Ewing, editing by Ed Osmond)
