Erik ten Hag has made the perfect Man United request - but Ineos must not grant it

At the beginning of the season, Erik ten Hag appeared to have a newly discovered confidence regarding his position at Manchester United.

Ineos had given him reassurances about his job security - eventually, and the likes of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Dan Ashworth and Omar Berrada came out publicly in support of him. However, heavy defeats to Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur coupled with another loss to Brighton and Hove Albion and a draw with Crystal Palace have left huge question marks over Ten Hag's future at the club.

This is by no means the first time that Ten Hag has been backed into a corner during his spell in Manchester so the rebuttal regarding his position at the club was expectedly seamless. "I'm not anxious (about losing my job)," he told Sky Sports.

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"We're in here together. We made an agreement this summer - the ownership, the leadership, and we are all behind it.

"We know the strategy, with young players in a transition period and we know in this process this can happen. But in the end, in May, in all of my last six seasons, there were trophies and this is what we are all aiming for."

In many ways, what Ten Hag is saying is perfect and his request from the boardroom is completely reasonable. United have made a name for themselves building youth prospects into world-class players and nothing creates more excitement than seeing the likes of; Kobbie Mainoo, Alejandro Garnacho and more recently Toby Collyer breakthrough into the first team.

But the request for more time and describing United as being in transition is flimsy at best. If you are the manager of a team like Brighton or even perhaps