The Erik ten Hag era nears a sorry end, so what next for Manchester United?

When the full-time whistle went on Monday at Selhurst Park, the biggest surprise was there was no real surprise.

Manchester United had slumped to a well-earned 4-0 hammering from 14th placed Crystal Palace and, outside of the performative YouTube reaction channels, the main response was that of shrugged shoulders.

The players, the manager, even the travelling fans who had stayed until the end to chant and sing in defiance of the dross that was being served-up on the pitch - the feeling from all involved was that this performance had been coming.

It's a result that leaves United sandwiched firmly in midtable mediocrity. They sit in between Chelsea who are still struggling to put together the world's most expensively assembled jigsaw and West Ham, who have already placed a 'help wanted’ sign in the window as they engrave David Moyes’ carriage clock ahead of next season.

The one bright spot for United supporters to take from that Palace defeat is that it increases their chances of side-stepping the Europa Conference qualification spot and with it, the prospect of Thursday night trips to Liechtenstein or Latvia.

Erik ten Hag’s men round out the season with league games against Arsenal, Newcastle and Brighton and it’s easy to make an argument for them to come away from those three games with nothing to show and their worst league finish in the Premier League era.

That they’re currently a point closer to the relegation zone than they are to the league leaders sums up the magnitude of their failings this season.

There’s also the matter of their inevitable defeat to local rivals Manchester City in the FA Cup final before they can put the whole sorry season to bed and perhaps with it, the Ten Hag era.

Like most other managers at United