What now for Ten Hag? Five things for Man Utd bosses to consider

Manchester United's under-siege manager Erik 10 Hag volition clutch gratefully astatine immoderate tiny mercy arsenic helium battles to contiguous a convincing lawsuit that helium should person a semipermanent aboriginal astatine Old Trafford.

Ten Hag faced games astatine Porto successful the Europa League and distant to Aston Villa successful the past week, which were flagged arsenic imaginable defining moments arsenic United's restructured managerial hierarchy plotted their adjacent moves.

United whitethorn not person won either of those games - the concession of a two-goal vantage to gully 3-3 successful Porto emblematic of the disorganised chaos that has characterised overmuch of Ten Hag's tenure - but a battling goalless gully astatine Aston Villa astatine slightest means helium did not suffer any.

The club's co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe was successful attendance astatine Villa Park alongside sidekick Sir Dave Brailsford and different members of United's caller enforcement radical specified arsenic Dan Ashworth, Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox. Sir Alex Ferguson was determination too, for bully measure.

So has Ten Hag done capable to support the continued religion of Ratcliffe and his cohorts - and what volition beryllium cardinal to their deliberations this week?

Ten Hag's determination to revert backmost to the seasoned duo of 36-year-old Jonny Evans and Harry Maguire to stem the tide against Aston Villa spoke volumes astir the problems helium has had making United immoderate benignant of cohesive unit.

The Dutchman ditched Matthijs de Ligt, his caller £45m signing from Bayern Munich, and Lisandro Martinez successful a determination which was hardly a ballot of assurance successful a brace designed to beryllium the aboriginal of his defence.

A cleanable expanse astatine Villa was astir origin for solemnisation fixed United person remained porous immoderate operation helium has tried - and Evans and Maguire person not played unneurotic since past November.

Since Ten Hag was appointed successful summertime 2022, nary Premier League broadside person conceded 3 oregon much goals successful a lucifer successful each competitions much times than United's full of 24. And successful 62 crippled since the commencement of past season, United person conceded doubly connected 31 occasions, the astir of immoderate Premier League side.

De Ligt emerged successful the 2nd fractional successful spot of the injured Maguire, an wounded which did not look good, but Ten Hag's nonaccomplishment to organise a coagulated defence has been a large responsibility successful his strategy.

The excellence of Evans connected his callback was recognition to his enduring quality, but it is simply a mediocre reflection connected those astir him that Ten Hag inactive has to crook to a subordinate who lone returned to Old Trafford successful an exigency past play and remains an important figure.

Former Republic of Ireland striker Clinton Morrison told BBC Radio 5 Live: "Jonny Evans was brilliant. He got a fewer kicks successful the archetypal fractional and helium did well.

"He mightiness not person the gait but what Evans does is helium reads the crippled precise well. He has travel successful and done a bully job. A bully determination by Erik 10 Hag."

If helium is to enactment arsenic Manchester United manager, Ten Hag volition request to marque much of them.

If Manchester United's antiaircraft statistic play into the problems that permission them 14th successful the Premier League and has Ten Hag warring for his job, past the attacking representation is besides bleak.

United person lone scored a meagre 5 goals successful their opening 7 Premier League games.

It was important that large chants of "attack, attack, attack" were heard from the conception of Villa Park lodging visiting supporters arsenic they slowed the enactment down successful the closing minutes with a constituent successful sight. This whitethorn good person captured the attraction of Ratcliffe et al, fixed the club's contented of expansive, attacking football.

You person to spell backmost to 1972-73 for a worse total, erstwhile United lone had 4 goals from their archetypal 7 league games.

This deficiency of menace was successful grounds present astatine Villa Park. The combined expected goals full betwixt Villa and Manchester United successful this crippled was conscionable 1.05, the lowest successful the Premier League this season.

Rasmus Hojlund returned to enactment astatine Villa Park, but for each his effort was ineffective and replaced by Joshua Zirkzee aft an hour.

Zirkzee has lone 1 extremity successful 10 games, portion Antony has 12 successful 86 and Hojlund a much respectable 17 successful 48 matches - but inactive hardly prolific.

Manchester United and Ten Hag whitethorn beryllium blessed with a gully astatine Villa Park, a pugnacious duty arsenic Bayern Munich discovered erstwhile they were beaten present successful the Champions League connected Wednesday, but it cannot disguise the manager and the team's continued struggles.

United's nonaccomplishment to triumph means they person their worst points tally aft 7 games of the Premier League era.

It is their worst commencement since 1989-90, erstwhile they finished 13th successful the First Division, and the show of much than £300m-worth of Ten Hag signings starting connected the seat painted a grim representation of the club's desperately flawed recruitment strategy nether him.

They did, astatine least, amusement immoderate of the organisation and combat missing successful the embarrassing 3-0 nonaccomplishment astatine location to Tottenham past Sunday and immoderate of the antiaircraft resilience that disappeared aft a bully commencement successful Porto.

United person present gone 5 games without a win, the archetypal clip successful 5 years this has happened, and portion this was an improved show it inactive leaves them with lone 2 league wins truthful acold this season.

This was not what Ratcliffe and United's powerbrokers had successful caput erstwhile they yet decided to basal by Ten Hag this summer, aft casting their nett but failing to find a suitable alternative.

United astatine slightest had signifier and a semblance of organisation, a crisp opposition to Spurs and Porto, but determination is inactive nary grounds of what wide individuality Ten Hag is attempting to fashion.

The fixture database aft the planetary interruption starts with a location crippled against Brentford earlier a travel to Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce successful the Europa League, West Ham United away, past Leicester City astatine home.

If Ten Hag survives - and helium inactive sounded assured aft this gully astatine Villa - much affirmative results indispensable travel instantly.

The planetary interruption has often presented a convenient clip for managerial change, but Ten Hag volition anticipation 2 draws volition postpone specified thoughts erstwhile Manchester United's enforcement radical clasp a gathering - said by nine sources to beryllium pre-planned - this week.

The jeopardy to Ten Hag would person been overmuch greater had either of the past 2 games, particularly astatine Villa, ended successful defeat.

However, it does not instrumentality a agelong of the imaginativeness to presume specified a mediocre commencement to the Premier League play volition travel precocious connected the docket for discussion.

This interruption successful the play offers a accidental to United - and so Ten Hag - to instrumentality clip and instrumentality stock, giving them abstraction to analyse their options.

Before the crippled against Villa, Ratcliffe told BBC sports exertion Dan Roan Ten Hag's aboriginal was "not my call", saying the hierarchy helium has assembled indispensable "take banal and marque immoderate sensible decisions".

He added: "It's the absorption squad that's moving Manchester United that person to determine however we champion tally the squad successful galore antithetic aspects."

This was Manchester United's occupation successful the summertime earlier they decided the astonishment triumph implicit Manchester City successful the FA Cup last was capable to proceed with Ten Hag.

England manager Gareth Southgate has favour wrong United's apical brass and is present disposable aft resigning pursuing Euro 2024, but the conception hardly captured the imaginativeness of Manchester United's fans.

Thomas Tuchel had talks successful the summertime aft leaving Bayern Munich but was not convinced capable to instrumentality the job. The German has high-class credentials, specified arsenic winning the Champions League with Chelsea, but besides has a estimation for being precocious maintenance. Would United by tempted to person different ace and beryllium convinced they could negociate immoderate issues of temperament?

Former Brighton and Chelsea manager Graham Potter was coy astir summertime links with United but has made it wide helium is present acceptable to instrumentality to absorption aft being sacked successful April 2023 aft lone 7 months astatine Stamford Bridge.

Ruud van Nistelrooy came backmost to Manchester United to articulation Ten Hag's squad aft the manager was yet shown religion successful the summer. Could helium clasp the fort portion a wider hunt goes on?

Inter Milan manager Simone Inzaghi has outstanding pedigree, taking them to the Champions League Final against Manchester City successful 2023 and continues to bash outstanding enactment astatine the San Siro.

Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna is highly-regarded from his clip connected Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s unit astatine United but his career, which has been outstanding astatine Portman Road successful taking The Tractor Boys into the Premier League, is inactive a enactment successful progress, truthful it whitethorn beryllium excessively aboriginal for the 38-year-old.

Ten Hag volition anticipation immoderate shoots of recovery, nary substance however flimsy, shown successful the past 7 days whitethorn conscionable enactment disconnected specified a debate.