Manchester United head coach Erik ten Hag has insisted that he 'does not care' about the speculation surrounding his future, with the Dutchman simply concentrating on the present.
Ten Hag has not been publicly backed by the club's new minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe, and the British billionaire is believed to be considering a change of manager at the end of the campaign.
England boss Gareth Southgate continues to be linked with the role, and Ten Hag was asked about the recent reports during his press conference on Friday afternoon.
The Dutchman said that he 'does not care' about the rumours, insisting that "there will always be noise" due to his position at the helm of one of the biggest clubs in world football.
"You know when you are working at Manchester United, there will always be noise and rumours around the club, team, manager, players, there will always be issues," Ten Hag told reporters.
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Ten Hag unmoved by recent speculation
"You [the media] like it to talk about [speculation], but of course we have different interests, but we are not focusing on that. We are focusing on the process to make the team play better, to improve the way of playing.
"So yes, I do not care about it. I was trainer at Ajax and it [the pressure] was similar and so when you are working at the top in football, you get used to it - so we do not care, players do not care, I do not care.
"We are working and co-operating, we know we have to perform and we have to get the right results."
There has been criticism of Ten Hag's style of football this season, but the Dutchman has claimed that certain aspects his team's performance against Liverpool in the FA Cup last time out demonstrated how he wants to play.
"Did you see the game against Liverpool? How good we were on [the] transition? There was a lot of transitions there. No, but we can play very good on transition," he added.
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"But on the other hand and that is then the process we are not always, we came through that process by that point. We also have to recognise where we have to keep the ball, to keep the ball longer.
"Otherwise we are coming into a tennis match and when we want to play tennis, we go to Wimbledon. We want to play football and we have to [find] the good and the strong points we have to build it and to construct those moments.
"But on the other hand, we have to read the game and we have to control also in some moments the game by keeping the ball."
Man United could still end what has been a difficult 2023-24 campaign on a positive note, with the team preparing to take on Coventry City in the semi-finals of the FA Cup next month.
The Red Devils remain in the race for a Champions League spot for next season, meanwhile, currently sitting sixth in the Premier League table, nine points behind fifth-placed Aston Villa and fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur, with a game in hand on both sides.
Matt Law
