Erik ten Hag breaks his own terrible Manchester United record as he clings to job

10/06/2024 10:38 AM

Erik ten Hag is clinging to his job as Manchester United manager.

The Red Devils drew 0-0 with Aston Villa at Villa Park on Sunday and it remains to be seen if he will still be in the dugout after the international break.

United have taken just eight points from their opening seven matches – their worst ever start in the Premier League era.

That beat Ten Hag’s own previous record of nine from the 2023/24 season.

This is the club’s lowest tally in their opening seven matches of a league season since 1989-90 (7).

That campaign under Sir Alex Ferguson saw them finish 13th – his lowest league finish in charge of the club.

Manchester United have also scored just five goals in their opening seven Premier League games of 2024/25.

Only in 1972/73 campaign have they ever netted fewer through their first seven games, the Red Devils scoring just four times.

Ten Hag was given two games to save his job at Old Trafford following their dismal 3-0 defeat to Tottenham last weekend.

Draws with Porto and Aston Villa may not have given the United hierarchy any clearer picture than seven days ago.

Reporting from Villa Park, talkSPORT’s Perry Groves said: “That might calm things down a bit.”

Henry Winter added: “I’m sure it will come at some point, but who do they replace him with? The problem is with the culture.

“You look at that squad, there’s still the work of three or four managers in there.”

Minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe recently distanced himself from talk about whether he would be pulling the trigger on Ten Hag’s Man United tenure.

Speaking before the Aston Villa game, Sir Jim Ratcliffe told the BBC: “I don't want to answer that question. I like Erik, I think he's a very good coach but at the end of the day it's not my call.

"It's the management team that's running Manchester United that has to decide how we best run the team in many different respects.

“But that team that's running Manchester United has only been together since June or July. They weren't there in January, February, March or April – [CEO] Omar [Berrada], [Sporting Director] Dan Ashworth – they only arrived in July.

“They've only been there, you can count it in weeks almost – they've not been there a long time so they need to take stock and make some sensible decisions.

“Our objective is very clear – we want to take Manchester United back to where it should be, and it's not there yet, obviously – that's very clear."

Man United are next in action against Brentford after the international break.