Manchester United have another appointment to make before Erik ten Hag decision

The statistics make for grim reading for Erik ten Hag and Manchester United. A year that saw lift them a first trophy in six years, finish third in the Premier League and compete in the FA Cup final has ended as one of the worst on record.

A total of 21 defeats in 2023 make it the fourth worst calendar year United have ever endured, in terms of games lost. They've lost 14 games this season before the turn of the year, something not achieved since 1930/31.

There's no getting away from just how dreadful these numbers are and Ten Hag has to consider himself fortunate to still be in a job. He is arguably a beneficiary of the drift that has engulfed United this year, with the Glazers spending most of 2023 deliberating over the future of the club, before finally settling on minority investment from Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

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But even now, there is a sense of a club lacking leadership. Sir Dave Brailsford, the head of sport at INEOS, has begun work as he assesses the football operations. United currently have an interim chief executive in Patrick Stewart and a football director in John Murtough, who is likely to find his power diluted at the very least.

Ten Hag might have had credit in the bank from last season, but that has all but vanished now. He is overseeing United's worst season in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era and had the football structure above him been more settled, he would surely have been replaced by now. But not only is it not clear who would make that decision, it's also not obvious who would oversee the search for a replacement.

Certainly, the arguments for keeping faith with Ten Hag are diminishing by