Glorious Wembley day gives Erik ten Hag two Manchester United regrets as he fights for future

Fifteen months ago Erik ten Hag danced with Lisandro Martinez on the Wembley pitch. This time their celebrations were more guttural.

When the final whistle blew on a sensational FA Cup final the Argentine centre-half grabbed the manager who has had such an impact on his career and screamed at him. After a year of frustration for both this was a day to savour.

A day that could have ended with Ten Hag getting the sack instead ended with him hoisting the FA Cup into the sky at a sun-lit Wembley. The roar that greeted that moment showed what the Manchester United matchgoing fans think of their Dutch manager.

It was a fitting moment to a season played under a cloud. Whether or not it is enough to save Ten Hag is another matter. His weekend began with more stories forecasting the end of his Old Trafford reign and although it ended with a trophy, it doesn't offer any guarantees.

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In the Royal Box, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Joel and Avram Glazer watched on with glee. Ratcliffe has finally seen the team he now controls win a game in 90 minutes. But if they decide to dispense of Ten Hag's services it will make for an awkward conversation now. Louis van Gaal will know the kind. It would be quite the narrative if United were to win the FA Cup and then sack their manager for the second time in a row.

But the cold analysis of the kind that billionaires specialise in suggests there is merit to that. United finished eighth in a 38-game season with a negative goal difference. It has, for the most part, been abysmal.

If the end does arrive Ten Hag will always have Wembley, but he will also have a sense of 'what if?'. What if more of these players had been