Man Utd told to give Ten Hag a lifeline amid ‘madness’ sack claims as earliest date for Ratcliffe axing is named

Manchester United have been told why they need to stand by Erik ten Hag for the time being at least and with talk of him getting the axe branded “madness” – but Sir Jim Ratcliffe has also been warned to be wary of a rapidly-accelerating issue at Old Trafford.

Ten Hag is under serious pressure after a dismal start to the season. With just three wins to their name in all competitions so far from eight matches played, heavy home defeats in the Premier League to Liverpool and most recently Tottenham have cranked the pressure right up and leaves the club squirming down in 12th place.

Next up for Manchester United are matches away at Porto in the Europa League and at Aston Villa in the Premier League; defeat in either could make life unbearable for the beleaguered Dutchman.

Despite claims he is on the cusp of the sack, football pundit Ally McCoist insists it would be madness to axe the Dutchman now, insisting it will be Christmas at the earliest before they consider replacing the 54-year-old.

Speaking to talkSPORT, McCoist said: “It’s difficult to say how long United should give Ten Hag because they’ve only just extended his contract. With the new owners giving him that new deal, it would make sense for them to stick with him no matter what happens in the foreseeable future.

“It would be madness to give him a new contract and then get rid of him straight away, that wouldn’t make any sense whatsoever.

“Unless there’s a rapid and unbelievable decline in results and standards, I think Ten Hag will be in charge at least until Christmas.”

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Ratcliffe told biggest concern of keeping Ten Hag in situ at Man Utd

Despite McCoist’s words of optimism that the axe won’t fall just yet, we understand United are already scouring the market for would-be replacements and having been told it is ‘just a matter of time’ before the axe falls.

Having witnessed them thoroughly beaten by both Liverpool and Spurs already, McCoist, though, fears there is a widening chasm between United and the very top sides – and Ratcliffe must be wary to ensure that gulf in class does not widen further.

“Manchester United have been one of the most disappointing sides in the Premier League this season,” McCoist added. “They were outclassed by Liverpool, beaten by Brighton, and already after just five games we’ve seen for definite that they’ve got no chance of winning the league. Their best hope of winning something this season is in one of the cups, that’s where they are at the moment.

“They have to start improving. From the manager’s point of view, the performances need to improve and they need to start taking points off those sides higher up the table. There’s no doubt that both the performances and results need to improve. United are a club that has to be taking three points off the rest of the teams outside the big six on a consistent basis.

“They always get beaten by City and Liverpool and Arsenal will probably beat them this season. The most worrying thing for me is the gulf in class that was so apparent in their loss to Liverpool.”

Ten Hag has also identified a trophy win – for which he already has two to his name – as an ideal way to keep the wolves from the door but denies he has been set a target of Champions League qualification at the minimum.

“It is never spoken of now you ask me the question – but what I think is we have to succeed,” Ten Hag told the media after Sunday’s Old Trafford defeat at home to Spurs.

“We have to win trophies, that is what this club stands for. This club also has the ambition to play on the highest platform and we want to achieve the Champions League. We have two routes, one is through the Premier League and one is through the Europa League.”

Scholes, Neville turn on Ten Hag as ‘brilliant fit’ is chosen as next Man Utd boss

Ten Hag will need positive results in his next two matches to at least begin the ease some of the pressure, but with several high-profile pundits all appearing to turn on him, there seems a long road back to redemption.

First up, Match of the Day host Gary Lineker claims it is “hard to see him turning this around” after predicting a major fallout from the Tottenham loss.

That was nothing, though, compared to Gary Neville who branded it “one of the worst performances he had ever seen” from United.

Paul Scholes did not exactly hold back, either, claiming the United players looked “dead” and that United were like an “uncoached team”. Serial moaner, Scholes, also had a few choice words for a £43m summer signing.

In the aftermath of the defeat, a former United scout has also revealed Ten Hag “does not have long left” having also revealed the club legend he expects to be named as his replacement.

Ten Hag record at Man Utd so far