Where do Manchester United go from here? Maybe somewhere close to home

Manchester United's press conference this week was due to be on Thursday before it was switched to Friday afternoon. Next to nothing to read into that.

All it did was to provide additional confirmation that we would not be faced by a different face in the manager's chair so close to kick-off on Saturday. It was apparent last week there would not be a change of manager and Erik ten Hag will take charge of the team for the 126th time against Brentford.

That is a must-win fixture for a manager some have dubbed Erik ten Lives. Victory would restore confidence and ensure a quiet few days ahead of two testing away matches at Fenerbahce and West Ham next week.

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Defeat would signal another apocalypse. United - and Ten Hag - daren't lose in the week they missed the boat on Thomas Tuchel. Tuchel's presentation by the Football Association at Wembley on Wednesday will have been cause for many United fans to switch off.

The Football Association, for decades a backwards-thinking and archaic organisation, now appear to be slicker operators than United. Whether United fans were for or against Tuchel, the fact is United renewed their interest in him this season and he was their prime choice to replace Ten Hag.

England's following is not short of ingrates and the odd xenophobe has come out of the woodwork over the appointment of a German. Others have been more nuanced in outlining their preference for a homegrown option. Tuchel is objectively a better coach than the impressive Graham Potter and Eddie Howe. England are fortunate to have an elite coach who has left the shores of Germany, France and England with winner's