Erik ten Hag is behind every improvement at Manchester United this season

If there is another alteration Erik ten Hag suggests to the Manchester United decision-makers it might be to relocate Under-21 games from Leigh to Altrincham.

Ten Hag was in attendance at the J Davidson Stadium on Friday night, enforced by the women's team's opening fixture at Leigh Sports Village on Saturday.

Anyone who has driven past Altrincham's ground will know how close it is to Hale village. A potential post-match debrief at La Famiglia or Piccolino is less than a mile away.

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The United manager opted for Piccolino the night of his first game in charge to digest the demoralising defeat to Brighton. Ten Hag was joined by his wife, Bianca, and agent Kees Vos, among others. Ever the Dutchman, Ten Hag cycled the streets of Cheshire last weekend.

The wheels nearly came off in those opening weeks of the season. United responded somewhat in the second-half against Brighton but Brentford was the nadir for any United fan of any generation, a hammering so chastening it was likened to the 5-0 surrender at Crystal Palace in 1972.

Within three days, Ten Hag had decided to drop the United captain whom he agreed was a "first choice" centre-back only a month earlier in Melbourne. Luke Shaw, one of three England players to have scored in a major final and United's best player two seasons ago, was discarded for Tyrell Malacia and Anthony Elanga replaced Cristiano Ronaldo.

The boldness of those calls was accentuated by the opponents: Liverpool. The fixture had loomed ominously for United fans and in the aftermath of Brentford looked terrifying. Yet United overwhelmed one of the best club teams of the last five years, feeding off a mutinous and raucous