MANCHESTER UNITED is now the toughest job in football after Erik ten Hag became their latest big-name casualty.
The Dutchman was dismissed after just more than two seasons following Sunday’s disastrous defeat at West Ham.
Ten Hag, who led the club to success in the Carabao and FA Cups, had won just four of his 14 games at the helm this term.
And with United also struggling to impress in Europe, Sir Jim Ratcliffe felt the time was right to wield the axe for real change.
Ruud van Nistelrooy is now interim boss at Old Trafford.
While the likes of Gareth Southgate and Xavi Hernandez have been tipped as candidates for the role.
But Ten Hag is not the first hyped-up manager to fail at United.
Following Sir Alex Ferguson’s exit in 2013, the Red Devils have now worked their way through SIX big-name bosses.
The first to follow in Fergie’s steps was David Moyes, who was widely heralded as his ideal successor after 11 years at Everton.
However, the Scot lasted just 10 months into his six-year deal as United missed out on Champions League football for the first time since 1995.
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Next up was Dutch master Louis van Gaal, once a top name in European dugouts.
He led United to FA Cup glory in his second season but was immediately sacked after the final due to his dull style and fifth-place finish in the league.
Jose Mourinho then took charge before bagging a Carabao Cup and Europa League double, as well as second spot in the table.
Yet his abrasive style led to clashes with stars like Paul Pogba, and the Special One was given his marching orders after two-and-a-half seasons.
A softer approach with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was then favoured, with the former United striker initially getting off to a flyer.
But with results souring following a Europa League final defeat to Sevilla, Solskjaer received the boot after three years.
Ralf Rangnick was quickly drafted in as interim boss with the view to a permanent consultancy role.
Yet his tenure resulted in just 11 wins, leading him to reject his future position and become Austria boss.
It now remains to be seen who comes in for Ten Hag, with Van Nistelrooy in the dugout for Wednesday’s Carabao Cup clash with Leicester.
There is also the small matter of the weekend league clash against a resurgent Chelsea.
But the Premier League title winner has had some managerial experience in his homeland with PSV Eindhoven.
And should Van Nistelrooy enjoy some success as interim, he could yet end up getting the gig on a full-time basis.
SunSport’s DAVE KIDD says Erik ten Hag’s time at Man Utd is up… and explains what’s wrong with all the potential candidates to replace him.
THIS is a mid-table squad at an underachieving club, with a lot of unwanted players on big money.
And Ratcliffe is an instinctive cost-cutter who may not pay top dollar to the next manager.
If this club wasn’t called ‘Manchester United’, it wouldn’t be an especially desirable job.
The good news for United is that their new sporting director, Dan Ashworth, is a very decent judge of a manager.
He has been instrumental in three previous managerial appointments — Gareth Southgate for England, Graham Potter for Brighton and Eddie Howe for Newcastle.
None were wildly popular at the time, all were conspicuous successes.
Interestingly, Ashworth’s No 1 choice for the Newcastle job was Unai Emery, who turned him down to stay at Villarreal but has since proved that judgment right by excelling at Aston Villa.
And the Spaniard would be an excellent fit for United — yet there is next to no chance that he would abandon Villa’s Champions League campaign to take the Old Trafford job, not least because he isn’t a stark raving madman.
Howe would be another good candidate to succeed Ten Hag but, although he has become frustrated on Tyneside, the Saudis would surely not allow Ratcliffe to poach Howe, as they reluctantly did with Ashworth.
Potter is available but his Chelsea experience and lack of charisma would make him a tough sell.
Which brings us to Southgate, who remains close with Ashworth and is an excellent man-manager who was seriously considered by United last spring.
Yet, despite having led England to two of their three major finals, Southgate’s reputation for over-caution was only enhanced during the Euros.
Mauricio Pochettino, passed over twice by United, is out of the equation having taken the United States job.
Thomas Tuchel would also have been a popular and gettable option – but England got in there first.
Likewise, Roberto De Zerbi, now at Marseille after his brief Brighton stint sparkled then fizzled out.
Kieran McKenna — a gifted former United coach who has won back-to-back promotions with Ipswich Town — is an intriguing candidate but the imminent vacancy may come a year or so too soon.
Marco Silva, the extremely under-rated Fulham boss, has been on United’s radar and should not be discounted.
Sporting Lisbon’s Ruben Amorim, last season’s ‘next big thing’, was passed over by West Ham as well as Liverpool this summer and is not an easy man to pin down.
Zinedine Zidane, who has taken over from Alan Curbishley as a 20-1 shot for every Premier League job, is a ‘figurehead’ manager and not an Ashworth type.
Ruud van Nistelrooy, the former United goal machine who joined Ten Hag’s coaching team in the summer is the bookies’ favourite. Simply because he’s in the building and he’s Dutch.
So, yes, getting rid of Ten Hag is the easy part.
