Erik ten Hag cut a lonely figure on the Old Trafford touchline at the weekend, as his Man United side were battered by Tottenham Hotspur.
Former Red Devil, Gary Neville, called the performance “disgusting” and many other things on his Gary Neville podcast, recorded directly after the match when he was clearly still seething at what he’d seen from his old club.
United coach, Ruud van Nistelrooy was a passive presence on the bench, with his nemesis, Martin Keown, questioning whether he was trying to get ten Hag the sack.
Benni McCarthy, who has worked alongside ten Hag too, has questioned the Dutchman’s lack of passion, suggesting that players want someone on the bench with a bit of fire and authority.
Whilst McCarthy’s comments may strike a chord with some of the United first-team, ten Hag does still have the support of his senior players according to The Telegraph (subscription required).
Ultimately, it is the players that will dictate whether ten Hag falls on his sword or not, for it is their standards of performance on which the manager will be judged.
It’s believed that the two games before the international break, against Porto in the Europa League and Aston Villa in the Premier League, could seal his fate.
Were Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his board to decide it’s time to look elsewhere, United’s long-suffering supporters might want to direct their ire to those players out on the pitch.
If ten Hag goes the same way as Ralph Rangnick, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Jose Mourinho, Louis van Gaal and David Moyes, the common thread is staring fans right in the face.
For a club as storied as the Red Devils, the managerial merry-go-round has to stop at some point and faith placed in the man in the dugout rather than underperforming and overpaid players.
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