Body language expert’s damning assessment of Erik ten Hag says it all

A body language expert has suggested Erik ten Hag appears 'broken' and claims he is likely ready to be let go from his role at Manchester United.

The former Ajax boss, who switched to managing the Red Devils in 2022, has had a tough ride thus far – enduring a historic low with the club, finishing eighth in the Premier League for the 2023/24 season. Their performance hasn't improved this year either, with United languishing in a dismal 14th place following a goalless draw against Aston Villa this Sunday, with only two victories out of their first seven matches.

Darren Stanton, known as the 'human lie detector', shared his observations with BoyleSports on Ten Hag's current state. He explained: "He's definitely a man who's looking to be put out of his misery or is expecting to be taken off to the butcher's shop, if that makes sense.

READ MORE: Manchester United lining up Thomas Tuchel to replace Erik ten Hag

READ MORE: 'They should have told me' - Ten Hag addresses future

"He looks ready to call it a day - he looks like a broken man. He looks like he's lost all confidence in himself and his ability to pull it back." In addition to his overall demeanour, the Mirror reports how Stanton highlighted specific signs during Ten Hag's post-match press conference and interviews after a hefty defeat by Spurs last month.

He shared: "In isolation, the eyes are the main key to spotting when someone has an internal emotion of anger even though he's trying to mask his feelings. You can see it in close quarters. You have these two furrow lines. Rishi Sunak used to show these quite a lot at PMQs when he was on the ropes.

"Principally this is not a happy guy at all. He looks like he feels he's been thrown under a bus, really. He's showing contempt for a number of reasons. He's in this position because he feels like he's not been listened to and people aren't doing as they're told. He's got a lot of anger swirling around and this anger continues to increase.

"When you zoom in on his press conference, he flashes lots of sadness through micro expressions. The only reason why he's flashing sadness is for himself. So he thinks he feels he's on the way out."

Off the back of the Villa draw, reports suggest that United are considering former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel as a potential replacement for Ten Hag – with the club's board set to convene over the international break to discuss their future plans following another week without a victory.

It's understood that United had discussions with Tuchel during the summer but ultimately decided to stick with Ten Hag for another season. United began their 2024/25 campaign with a spark of optimism, securing a 1-0 victory over Fulham in their first match, before suffering a 2-1 defeat to Brighton the subsequent week.

A 3-0 drubbing from arch-rivals Liverpool followed in the Red Devils' next match before Ten Hag's team managed a 3-0 triumph over Southampton, providing fans with a reason to celebrate. However, goalless draws with Crystal Palace and Aston Villa, coupled with a chaotic midweek 3-3 draw with Porto and a recent 3-0 defeat to Spurs, suggest that the manager is finding it challenging to maximise his team's performance on the pitch.

Sign up to our United newsletter so you never miss an update from Old Trafford this season.

Sign up to get even more from our Man United coverage

We want your views, Reds. You can become even more involved with our Man United coverage by signing up. This will unlock a whole host of things - including joining the comments and taking part in our special Q&As, where you can speak directly to our reporters about what’s happening at Old Trafford this week and beyond.

Click here to get started.