Erik ten Hag‘s position as Manchester United manager is set to be reviewed by the club’s hierarchy if they lose their next two games.
The Dutchman is not thought to be under immediate pressure of the sack despite his side being booed off following Sunday’s humbling 3-0 defeat to Tottenham.
United’s meagre seven points is their joint-fewest after six games of a Premier League season and they have lost consecutive league matches without scoring at Old Trafford for the first time since November 2021.
However, i has been told co-owners Ineos keen to back the manager ahead of two crucial games this week – a trip to Porto in the Europa League and a tough meeting with Aston Villa on Sunday.
Should both of those fixtures end in further disaster, then the club could review Ten Hag’s position going into the international break in a process led by sporting director Dan Ashworth.
Ashworth is not known to be particularly trigger happy and has been patient with under pressure coaches in the past.
The new hierarchy are also understood to be happy with the recruitment in the summer and are willing to give those new arrivals time to bed in.
Promising young players were targeted by the new regime, with a more long-term view than their predecessors took.
But Ten Hag remains the bookmakers’ favourite to be the next Premier League manager sacked.
His position became borderline untenable in the summer, after Ineos’ senior figures made contact with a host of other options before electing to stick by the Dutchman, in the main down to United’s FA Cup final victory over Manchester City and the subsequent fan support for Ten Hag.
After another underwhelming start to the season, many of those are already turning. Several of those names United contacted – Thomas Tuchel, Gareth Southgate and Graham Potter – remain out of work and therefore available. There is even the possibility that Ineos turn to new assistant Ruud van Nistelrooy on a short-term basis.
There is little sign, even with all the talent at his disposal, that Ten Hag has what it takes to succeed, with it still unclear what his style of play actually is.
More worryingly perhaps, there does not seem to be the desire from the team to bring any lasting change.
A look at the United squad warming up before such a pivotal encounter on Sunday did little to inspire hope of any fight being present.
While Tottenham’s backline was being put through their paces in a series of intense-looking drills, United’s players were just standing around, doing kick-ups with one another, taking the odd shot at goal. The intensity seemed conspicuous by its absence.
Three minutes into the contest and Diogo Dalot lost his marker at the back post early in Tottenham’s counter attack, led by the rampaging Micky van de Ven, with the full-back showing little fight to retrieve the situation, allowing Brennan Johnson the freedom of Old Trafford to set Spurs on their way to victory.
Replays showed Dalot holding his hand up to apologise even before Johnson has found the net. He wasn’t alone in a first-half display as uninspiring as any in Ten Hag’s tenure. Whether this same expensively-assembled group of players can save their beleaguered manager remains to be seen.
Ten Hag arrived bright and early on Monday morning at United’s Carrington training base to get to work. He has an almighty task on his hands to ensure he can keep coming back.
