Erik ten Hag's response to question about losing his Manchester United job proved one thing

Somewhere in a parallel universe, Manchester United sold Harry Maguire and Scott McTominay to West Ham in the summer and the headlines during the international break revolved around Erik ten Hag's increasingly uncertain future.

The newspaper's back pages would have suggested Ten Hag was on borrowed time after an awful start to the season and supporters would have despaired during the break, fearing what was to come when the Premier League resumed.

In reality, those players weren't sold and they were responsible, particularly McTominay who scored a dramatic brace in added time, for three invaluable points against Brentford last weekend which changed the narrative.

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McTominay did brilliantly to score both goals off the bench and Maguire played his part with his assist for the second. The winning goal was ironically a goal you might expect to see from a West Ham side managed by David Moyes.

The results have been bleak this season, but that remarkable, late 2-1 victory against Brentford has the potential to be a watershed moment; so can this group of players use it as a springboard? They can either sink or swim.

Last season was excellent, yet the optimism those promising 12 months generated has disappeared already. It was hoped United could progress from a top-four finish and a trophy but matching that would be an achievement now.

United have suffered six defeats in 11 games in all competitions and for some perspective on that dismal run of performances, a P45 was handed to Jose Mourinho in December 2018 after suffering eight defeats in 24 matches.

It would be a shock for this current side to only suffer another