Erik ten Hag must heed Paul Scholes' warning despite improved Manchester United form

To quote an overused football cliché - winning is everything.

For Manchester United, the magical three points at the end of 90 minutes have been too big a rarity since Sir Alex Ferguson retired. Managers of all different forms have tried and failed to find a consistent formula for success at Old Trafford in the near decade since the great gaffer left.

Currently, the eighth manager to take the hotseat at United seems to have found a way to get this team winning. Abandoning his possession-based principles to instead pursue a direct style is the mark of a brilliant boss.

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Finding any way to win should be enough to receive the backing of the supporters. However, Erik ten Hag would do well to heed the warning he received from Paul Scholes this week.

Speaking to Gary Neville on The Overlap, Scholes warned that Ten Hag could lose his position if the recruitment side of United is not corrected. "Jadon Sancho was a young player who Manchester United spent a lot of money on, who was unproven in the league," the midfielder explained.

"And why would a club like Real Madrid let [Raphael] Varane go? If you looked at him last season, he didn’t look right.

"I didn’t think it was a great transfer window. Nobody at the club is taking responsibility for it.

"I think they need to put someone in charge of recruitment. Eventually, the manager will get blamed for it."

Before the season started in earnest, it looked like nothing had really changed at United. The transfer window was once again a mess on all fronts.

If you compare it to Sunday's opponent's window, United looked in complete disarray. Failure to effectively plan for Frenkie de Jong refusing a move almost cost the Reds