A long, protracted and embarrassing assessment of the Erik Ten Hag reign by new minority shareholder INEOS determined that, contrary to reports before the FA Cup final that the Dutchman was to be fired, the incumbent would remain in post.

As votes of confidence go this was pretty unconvincing.

Extensive media reports were calling into question the future of the United boss for weeks after the cup win and it was well-documented that talks had taken place with ex-Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel.

When they broke down it then emerged the former Brighton & Hove Albion manager Roberto De Zerbi had come into consideration as well as Mauricio Pochettino, Thomas Frank and Kieran McKenna.

One can only imagine how unedifying the spectacle must have been for Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag.

He'd cut a defiant figure at the post-match celebrations after beating rivals Manchester City in the FA Cup but he must have known he was in for a battle.

"If they don't want me anymore, I go anywhere else to win trophies because that is what I did my whole career," he told the media postgame.

"I'm in a project and we are exactly where we want to be. We're constructing a team.

"When I took over, it was a mess at United. We are on our way to construct a team for the future. We'll go with the ups and downs.

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"What you see is the team is developing, the team is winning, at the end of the day it is about winning trophies."

The reality which he and everyone else knew was that one day in the sunshine which delivered a trophy against the club's most bitter rivals did not erase a humiliatingly bad campaign.

An eighth-placed finish condemned United to its lowest finishing position in the Premier League era and a points tally just two better than their worst for the same period.

It was a season of bad defeats and porous defending that added the additional record of a negative goal difference for the first time in 34 years.

Placed in a Champions League group with Bayern Munich, FC Copenhagen and Galatasaray the Red Devils crashed out of Europe's top competition disastrously.

So it was understandable Ten Hag would face scrutiny. What's strange is that after deciding to stick with their coach, the owners are seemingly doubling down by offering him a new contract.

Sky Sports have reported that the Dutchman is not only being backed to continue, it is a "priority" to tie him down for longer and the Telegraph suggested he was on the brink of a two-year deal.

The question is why?

Given the Red Devils had just recorded one of the worst seasons in three decades its review of the decisions leading to this dismal showing was not an unexpected process.

But one impressive day against the Premier League champions in the FA Cup final altered external perspectives completely, the questions being asked of Ten Hag's choices were suddenly determined as not being as appropriate as they were in the weeks preceding the game.

Now it's easy to assume that a new contract will be overwhelmingly positive but there have been conflicting reports about whether the agreement will lay down different terms for Ten Hag to operate under.

The suggestion is that Ten Hag has been asking to retain control of transfers and maintain his position of power at the club, which is the opposite of what reports about INEOS intentions had been before that. The message has been that the manager needed reeling in.

This was a logical conclusion given that, since arriving at Manchester United, the Dutchman has been handed somesignificant sums to recruit players he knows well.

Anthony, Lisandro Martinez and Andre Onana have been acquired for a combined cost of more than $200 million.

However, the jury is very much still out on whether any of them can be deemed a success at the club yet. That would be cause for concern in itself, but the truth is Ten Hag's power in managing his playing squad has gone well beyond acquisitions.

Since joining United he's written off the services of a superstar reportedly earning more than $500,000 a week and a $91 million marquee signing.

The axing of both Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho were not sporting decisions, they were frozen out by Ten Hag because of personal off-the-field disputes with the man himself.

At a modest estimate, the totality of Ten Hag's decisions equates to costs equivalent to half of Manchester United'sannual revenue, all taken by one man on his own.

Given he could be dispensed of as readily as any of the players it seems wise not to persist with such a strategy.

It certainly runs contrary to the vision set out by INEOS boss Sir Jim Ratcliffe detailed by the billionaire after acquiring a 25% share in the club.

"The solution isn't spending a lot of money on a couple of great players. They've done that over the last 10 years. The first thing we need to do is get the right people in the right boxes who are managing and organizing the club and make sure we get recruitment right. It's such a vital part of running a football club today, finding new players."

He should remember that before handing Ten Hag a new deal or ceding the same level of control as has been done in the past.