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At half-time on Saturday, Erik ten Hag must have been sweating profusely with Manchester United trailing at the break by a goal against Brentford at Old Trafford.
Facing Thomas Frank, touted to be one of the favourites to replace him should INEOS pull the trigger, the Dutchman needed nothing short of three points to guarantee his safety moving forward.
A solid show from his forwards in the second half and a warrior-like display from Matthijs de Ligt at the back ensured the Red Devils came back from a goal down to eventually triumph 2-1.
But the result far from guarantees Ten Hag’s safety with the new co-owners still demanding consistency and a run of positive results in the next few games to ensure they return to the reckoning for a top-four league finish.
Jose waiting for United
United’s European journey began in horrible fashion, as they scraped a point against FC Twente before a dramatic late draw against Porto thanks to a last-gasp goal from Harry Maguire after taking the lead early in the game.
Next up is a trip to Turkey to face former manager Jose Mourinho who would love nothing more to “compound the misery” on the United boss.
As per Football Insider, INEOS are open to sacking Ten Hag should they not pick up their first three points of this Europa League campaign on Thursday.
“Jose Mourinho is relishing the opportunity to compound the misery on Erik ten Hag and his former club Man United, sources have told Football Insider.
EtH remains in danger
“Senior correspondent Pete O’Rourke revealed that it could be the ‘end of the road’ for Ten Hag, 54, if he loses to Mourinho, 61, next Thursday in their Europa League clash with Fenerbahce.”
The three-time Champions League winners are currently 11th in the table and this represents their worst start to a league campaign in 35 years.
As for Mourinho, he will be looking to send a message to his former club who sacked him despite the club achieving their highest points tally in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.
Fenerbahce also have former United midfielder Fred in their ranks, who will also be keen to prove Ten Hag wrong for choosing to sell him in the summer of 2023.
Feature image Ahmad Mora via Getty Images
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