Manchester United players have shown Erik ten Hag just what he's getting himself into

A penny for the thoughts of Erik ten Hag. If the Dutchman has any doubts about what he's getting himself into then Manchester United's executives might be wise not to pick up the phone to him for the next few days.

The 52-year-old will be making his judgements on the squad over the final weeks of the season but he should have seen everything he needed on another desperate day at Goodison Park.

If Ten Hag was looking to compile a list of players who have the character and the personality to survive life at Old Trafford then he wouldn't have needed to pick his pen up all afternoon. This was as abject as it gets in a season that might well be the worst of the nine in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.

READ MORE: United are as spineless now as they were three years ago

Yet for 27 minutes Goodison Park had felt like a tinderbox, one decisive United attack from erupting in a fury of anger towards the home team.

This was never going to be a contest for the purist. It was a battle between two weak teams who with eight games to go are struggling to meet the very minimum expectations of them this season.

Everton’s midweek defeat at Turf Moor ended any notion that they are too good to go down and United started the weekend looking at potential Europa Conference League opponents for next season. It’s been absolutely abject from both teams.

But discontent is never far from the surface at Goodison Park and as United began to take a stranglehold on proceedings in the first half it felt like the locals were looking for a reason to turn on their team.

Every misplaced Allan pass was met with a groan, every time Dominic Calvert-Lewin was outjumped ignited anger. The Evertonians were not happy and that was music to the ears of United.

To turn