Manchester United: Erik ten Hag still defiant but is the manager still on brink?

Even having avoided defeat in Portugal, Ten Hag remains under intense scrutiny before Sunday’s return to league action at Aston Villa.

He stayed on in the summer, after the disappointment of an eighth-place finish was offset somewhat by winning the FA Cup.

But while a poor start to this campaign has seen the pressure on the 54-year-old ramped up again, Mark Ogden, senior writer for ESPN, does not expect Ten Hag to be sacked even if United lose at Villa Park.

“I’ll be surprised if he lost his job,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live. “On the basis that the money is an issue.

“Manchester United are hoping he turns it round. He is obviously walking a tightrope.”

But how long he remains if results do not significantly improve is another matter.

“The demeanour from the players is it’s like they’ve just had a maths lesson with a teacher they don’t like and they’re all coming out confused,” Ogden added.

“There’s not really any kind of warmth from Erik ten Hag to the players. Ten Hag doesn’t have the charisma to manage at a top club.”

To overcome a Villa side buoyed by a famous win over Bayern Munich, Ten Hag will have to find a way to inspire his players or face succumbing to a fourth league defeat in seven games.

“Erik’s resilient, he’s shown that but Villa Park is going to be so tough,” former Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves told TNT Sports.

“It’s a big test and he needs to find a way to bounce back.

“Before the game, we’re highlighting they’ve got goalscoring issues. Today they had defensive issues. At times it looks like they get something sorted and then something else goes.

“There are a lot of issues, he’s [Erik ten Hag] been there for quite a while. There’ll be a lot of questions.”