Erik ten Hag had bitter approach to Arne Slot's Liverpool arrival

Erik ten Hag claimed Arne Slot ahead of his inevitable Red Devils sacking.

The 54-year-old following Sunday's 2-1 defeat to in the , the club's fourth loss of the season already that leaves it languishing in 14th place after just nine games.

Since his arrival in the summer of 2022, oversaw a spend of more than $778million (£600m/€720) on transfers, yet he had little to show for it by the time his sacking eventually came around.

Despite achieving a third-place finish in the Premier League and winning the in his first season at the club, the Dutchman then led to its lowest ever finish in the top flight last season as it finished eighth.

But after his countryman came in to take over the reins at ahead of the current campaign, Ten Hag used the excuse that he had a better team to inherit than the one he took over at Old Trafford as a way of downplaying United's chances of beating Liverpool earlier this season.

"I'm not here to talk for him [Slot] but Liverpool, it's clear, they are in a different phase of the lifecycle," Ten Hag said ahead of . "They have a team that is mature, players who have been playing for a long time together and who are very experienced. We have much more of a mix and have to build a new team.

"There is a team and the structures are really clear, I think the players, the partnerships, the relationships in that team are very clear and that is what he inherited, that has been built over the past years. So things are still the same, but I have also seen some things that he already brought in."

While Liverpool certainly was in a better place when Slot took over than United was when Ten Hag took charge, the former Feyenoord boss had just two months to work with his new players ahead of that September 1 meeting at Old Trafford - Ten Hag had two years.

Having also not splashed out on new player's following his arrival, the summer allowed Man United to 'catch up' with its biggest rivals with yet another summer spending spree. According to Ten Hag, however, Slot was still the one who held the advantage.

Yet despite his constant excuses, it is Ten Hag who now finds himself out of a job while Slot continues to ride the rave of a fantastic start to the new campaign that has yielded 11 wins from 13 games.