Manchester United sacking plans for a manager are still the same

If Erik ten Hag enters the Jimmy Murphy Centre next Thursday for the pre-match press conference, he has not dodged the bullet just yet.

Ten Hag has been around the block enough times, is thick-skinned and realistic enough to know how football clubs operate. So was Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. He knew his time was up before his final game had finished. Jose Mourinho could also see the wood for the trees.

The two exceptions at Manchester United were Louis van Gaal, in denial and deluded until the very end, and David Moyes. There would be no resurrection for Moyes on Easter Monday in 2014 after the Manchester correspondents reported his imminent dismissal.

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Moyes spent that bank holiday putting finishing touches to an intended move for Luke Shaw. A United manager had not been sacked in 27-and-a-half years. The promise of it was as seismic and sudden for the Moyes household as it was for United followers.

With Moyes and Van Gaal, the top-four precedent was set. Both fell on their sword following failure to qualify for the Champions League. Van Gaal lasted a little longer to manage United in an FA Cup final.

Solskjaer had agreed with Ed Woodward to take caretaker charge eight weeks before he touched down in Manchester. Mourinho is a manager who keeps his ear to the ground and had got wind of Woodward's manoeuvrings.

Time is of the essence for the current United regime and yet they also have time. There is not a game for ten days, the players and coaching staff are scattered across the globe and training will not restart until next week.

"The notion that a manager has 'two games to save his