Manchester United handed fresh reality check as Erik ten Hag sent sack message

In a week that Sir Alex Ferguson was told he would be stood down from his ambassadorial role at the end of the season, Manchester United have been reminded of their failure to find a suitable replacement since his exit.

Five permanent managers have been installed since the Scot’s retirement in 2013 and none have looked close to winning the title. The latest, Erik ten Hag, managed to record the club’s lowest Premier League finish last season.

The under-pressure Dutchman looks to have kept his job for now despite recording just three wins from his first 10 games this season. It would be astonishing to see him sacked so soon before United’s clash with Brentford on Saturday.

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The board met last week for a pre-scheduled executive meeting and all has gone quiet. Members have had a fortnight since the goalless draw at Villa Park to publicly back or sack Ten Hag but have done neither - which is perhaps a message in itself.

The situation rather has the air of ‘as you were - for now’. The truth is that United were lining up a potential successor should things have continued to go south - but the club has now suddenly seen their target become unavailable.

Thomas Tuchel was attractive to United due to the fact he was unattached to a club and this would not have incurred a compensation fee to prise out of an existing contract. The Football Association liked that fact too and moved quickly to snap him up for the England job.

United’s interest sped up his recruitment, the German signing his 18-month contract at Wembley the day after the Manchester Evening News