Manchester United failed to do what Erik ten Hag promised they would vs Newport

Manchester United will finish January unbeaten and unstrengthened and although it’s been a positive month behind the scenes, it hasn’t exactly felt like new year, new start on the pitch.

They made light work of Wigan in the FA Cup third round but toiled against Tottenham in their only meeting with Premier League opposition and somehow managed to drag themselves into the narrative of a major FA Cup storyline at Newport County before finally getting the job done.

United were cruising after 13 minutes against their League Two opponents, leading 2-0 and playing some nice football against outmatched opposition. When the final quarter of the game beckoned they were back at 2-2 and threatening to throw England’s cricketers off the back pages.

READ MORE: Player ratings vs Newport

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“You’re getting sacked in the morning”, crowed the Rodney Parade crowd to Erik ten Hag after seeing their team score twice in 11 minutes to bring the score level. Ten Hag will almost certainly get the rest of the season as INEOS assess what is working and what isn’t at Old Trafford, but days like this aren’t exactly doing his cause much good. He needs stability and some simple wins but he isn’t getting them.

His resources were stretched a little again here. Anthony Martial is out for 10 weeks after groin surgery and Marcus Rashford was ill a few days after being pictured clubbing in Belfast. But he is getting players back again as well.

The transfer window was always going to be quiet this month. As Ten Hag said on Friday when asked about replacing Martial, financial rules mean United's hands are tied.

But that doesn’t mean the squad hasn’t improved this month. In fact, Ten Hag boldly set