Ten Hag facing last hope of keeping Man Utd job - which may not even be enough
On the face of it, Manchester United enjoyed a productive weekend, closing the gap on fourth-placed Aston Villa to eight points in the race for a Champions League spot.
Tottenham's emphatic 4-0 win at Villa Park breathed new life into United's unlikely bid to snatch fourth place and Erik ten Hag's hopes of keeping his job beyond the end of the season. United are not back in Premier League action until after the international break, with their next assignment a home FA Cup quarter-final against arch rivals Liverpool on Sunday.
The FA Cup represents United's last hope of lifting a trophy in an otherwise wretched second season for Ten Hag, one that has seen his future legitimately called into question, after such a huge drop-off from his first campaign in charge. FA Cup glory and securing a Champions League place are, realistically, Ten Hag's only chances of keeping his job, with new United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe having already set about shaking up the personnel on the football side of the club, with the manager increasingly vulnerable.
Yet despite closing the gap to fourth spot, after Sunday's FA Cup showdown and the two-week international break, United face a testing run of league fixtures that will go a long way to determining whether their Champions League hopes are realistic or a fanciful notion.
Back-to-back away trips to Brentford and Chelsea are followed by another meeting with Jurgen Klopp's men and then a trip to Bournemouth, who humiliated United 3-0 at Old Trafford earlier this season. Given United's inconsistencies this season, it is hard to see them taking the points haul – maximum, in all likelihood – required to keep them in the unlikely hunt for fourth.
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Even though Tottenham's win at Villa cut the gap between United and fourth place, Spurs still have a game in hand and Ten Hag's men are likely to have to win nine of their remaining 10 fixtures to have any chance of claiming that final Champions League spot, especially when you take into account their hugely inferior goal difference, which currently stands at zero.
Considering the calibre of opponents they have left to face, and taking into account their erratic form this season, there is little evidence to suggest United can achieve anything more than a Europa League place this term.
That would leave Ten Hag in an precarious position, with some big-name managers on the market this summer, including Thomas Tuchel, and others who have impressed enough to suggest they could succeed at United, such as Brighton's Roberto De Zerbi and former Chelsea and Brighton boss Graham Potter, while England boss Gareth Southgate has been linked with the Old Trafford job.
Ever since Ratcliffe and his INEOS team took charge of football operations, Ten Hag has effectively been on trial for his job, an impressive finish to an otherwise dismal season required to give him a fighting chance of staying in position.
That decision may have already been taken by the United hierarchy, with Ratcliffe having refused to give Ten Hag his public backing when asked what he made of the 54-year-old Dutchman.
With the Champions League looking increasingly unattainable, even winning the FA Cup may not be enough to save Ten Hag, as Louis van Gaal found to his cost in 2016, when he was sacked 24 hours after lifting the famous trophy.
Against that backdrop, Ten Hag has it all to do between now and the end of the season to prove to Ratcliffe he is the right man to lead United into a new era, rather than the club starting all over again by appointing a sixth permanent manager in the 11 years since Sir Alex Ferguson retired.
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