Erik ten Hag may regret his choice of words. When saying that he was not worried about being sacked, the Dutch strategist stated that he was "in the same boat" with the owners of Manchester United.
So, is the ship Ten Hag is talking about Titanic or a sunken ship somewhere? And if so, Porto would be a storm. Leading by 2 goals but in the end, the "Red Devils" had to struggle to get back 1 point from their opponent. That means the game against Aston Villa will be decisive. To put it simply, if he continues to lose to Villa, it is very likely that Ten Hag will have to leave Old Trafford.
Ten Hag has said that Man United's slow start to the season is nothing to worry about. In addition, the former Ajax coach is not worried about his position. In fact, Ten Hag had to leave last season if he had not won the FA Cup to regain some confidence.
But even with the United board's trust in Ten Hag, danger is always lurking. Before Ten Hag, there were 4 other predecessors, but their dismissal is just a question of when, not whether or not.
However, the 54-year-old could be seen as the first to break out of that spiral in the summer. Or simply, he is the latest evidence that Man United need time to take down managers.
Jose Mourinho delayed his own departure by winning away to Juventus, 6 weeks before being sacked. Meanwhile, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's closing match was a 3-0 win over Tottenham. And perhaps both should have been sacked sooner.
In the past 14 months, if we look at it fairly, Ten Hag has had many worse performances than Solskjaer in his entire reign. There is therefore a risk that Ten Hag will become the third consecutive United manager to leave before Christmas.
Gareth Southgate, a coach admired by many leaders of INEOS, is being highly speculaated. Is there a possibility of a replacement being identified, as Mourinho has replaced Van Gaal?
With Ruud van Nistelrooy in the coaching staff, Man United will have an interim coach with a personality similar to Solskjaer. Of course, the sad memories of another interim coach, Ralf Rangnick, will make the M.U board consider.
Man United stunned Man City to win the FA Cup last season. This was also a turning point that helped Ten Hag gain more time at Old Trafford. But now, the "death spiral" for coaches at Old Trafford seems to be repeating itself...
