Ten Hag Not in Need of Assurances Over Man Utd Future 

Football - Premier League - Manchester United v Fulham - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - February 24, 2024 Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag looks on. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Manchester United v Fulham - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - February 24, 2024 Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag looks on. (Reuters)
TT

Ten Hag Not in Need of Assurances Over Man Utd Future 

Football - Premier League - Manchester United v Fulham - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - February 24, 2024 Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag looks on. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Manchester United v Fulham - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - February 24, 2024 Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag looks on. (Reuters)

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag said he does not require promises of job security from new co-owner Jim Ratcliffe amid uncertainty over his future, adding that he is focused on ensuring the club continues to progress and improve.

Ten Hag was hired in 2022 and guided United to a third-place finish in the Premier League as well as the League Cup title in his first season, but their current campaign has been less convincing.

United's season has been plagued by inconsistent performances and injury woes, with the Manchester club in sixth place after their 2-1 league loss to Fulham on Saturday.

The defeat, which came just three days after Ratcliffe vowed to bring United back to their glory days, added to the intense scrutiny and pressure on Ten Hag.

Asked whether it would benefit the club for Ratcliffe to publicly confirm Ten Hag as United's long-term manager, the Dutchman told reporters: "I'm under contract for three seasons, so I don't care.

"I am in this process, I'm only focusing on the process, so I don't care what's going on around me," Ten Hag added, speaking ahead of a fifth-round FA Cup tie at Nottingham Forest on Wednesday.

"I have many talks with Sir Jim Radcliffe, also with Sir Dave Brailsford and others in that group, so I know what we are talking about and I have a strong belief and I feel that they believe in me.

"I want to win every game. I know I'm in a process, I know what I'm doing. I focus on those two points - progress of the team in this moment and the next game, and to think about the future, and to do that in togetherness."



‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
TT

‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)

The Paris Olympics look likely to get off to a soggy start.

Meteo-France, the French weather service, is predicting “flooding rains” Friday evening when the opening ceremony is set to unroll along the Seine River. But the show is set to go on as planned, starting at 1:30 p.m. EDT/7:30 p.m. CEST and should last more than three hours.

Already in the late afternoon, skies were gray with intermittent drizzle. There was a silver lining, though, with temperatures expected to stay relatively warm throughout the evening.

Instead of a traditional march into a stadium, about 6,800 athletes will parade on more than 90 boats on the Seine River for 6 kilometers (3.7 miles). Though 10,700 athletes are expected to compete at these Olympics, hundreds of soccer players are based outside Paris, surfers are in Tahiti and many have yet to arrive for their events in the second week, organizers said Thursday.

Hundreds of thousands of people, including 320,000 paying and invited ticket-holders, are expected to line the Seine’s banks as athletes are paraded along the river on boats.