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Last week saw Manchester United share the spoils with Crystal Palace in the Premier League and FC Twente in the Europa League, ramping up the pressure on manager Erik ten Hag.
The club have won only three games out of eight this season and are currently lying 11th in the league table, not what INEOS had in mind when they chose to stick with the Dutchman at the helm.
When the Red Devils finished eighth in the previous campaign, most people thought Ten Hag’s tenure was set to end but the FA Cup final win meant the new co-owners choose to place their trust in the former Ajax coach after an extensive end-of-season review.
They backed him with five signings in the transfer window and were surely hoping for a much improved display from the team on the pitch.
EtH needs wins under his belt
But the results have been far from good with losses against Manchester City in the FA Community Shield, and against Brighton and Liverpool in the league.
Add the most recent disappointing draws and it is clear that the manager is not getting the best out of his players. There have been improvements as compared to last season in certain metrics but it is results that will ultimately decide his fate.
As per Football Insider, Sir Jim Ratcliffe has give Ten Hag time till Christmas to turn things around. They have always maintained that what the manager lacked was the right structure behind him, and now Ten Hag has that.
And they expect the results to follow. If a top-four finish looks elusive at that point of the season, they will be forced to pull the plug on the Ten Hag era.
“Man United are expected to sack Erik ten Hag “by Christmas” if he does not oversee a big turnaround in the team’s fortunes, sources have told Football Insider.
“Sources revealed that should United find themselves slipping away from the top-four race at Christmas, a decision will have to be made.”
Christmas deadline given to EtH
There have been murmurs of INEOS approaching former England boss Gareth Southgate while links with the usual suspects like Thomas Tuchel have also appeared.
Italian managers have also found mention while former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s comments have heaped further misery on Ten Hag.
Huge league games against Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa are up next and INEOS will get a clearer picture of where the team actually stands when they meet their top-four rivals.
Unfavourable results there and alarm bells will start ringing along the corridors of power at Old Trafford and Ten Hag’s fate could be hanging by a thread heading into the next international break.
Feature image Carl Recine via Getty Images
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