Manchester United appear to have a plan in place should they decide to pull the trigger on Erik ten Hag.
Tottenham Hotspur became the latest team to embarrass Ten Hag’s men, as Ange Postecoglou’s side registered a comfortable 3-0 win over United on Sunday afternoon.
The visitors managed a staggering 10 shots on target, and if it were not for Andre Onana’s heroic display, the scoreline might have looked a lot worse at the full-time whistle.
Further, even when Bruno Fernandes was on the pitch, United’s attack did little to trouble Spurs’ backline. With this result, the Mancunians have now lost back-to-back league matches at Old Trafford without scoring for the first time since November 2021.
However, according to ESPN, the club’s hierarchy are “minded to keep faith” with their main man in charge, as they intend to honour their summer decision to back the ex-Ajax coach for now.
Still, there is a “growing acceptance” that he is now under a lot of pressure and the feeling remains that “there must be significant improvement” in the next two games against FC Porto and Aston Villa before October’s international break.
It is claimed that United “believe they are well-prepared to make a change” if Ten Hag fails to turn around their form.
The report further adds: “Promoting assistant Ruud van Nistelrooy — at least in the short term — is considered a viable option if a change becomes necessary.”
The former United striker joined Ten Hag’s coaching staff alongside Rene Hake this summer.
Van Nistelrooy has previously impressed as a manager, having won two trophies during his short stint with PSV Eindhoven. Before he accepted to assist Ten Hag, he was also supposedly on the radar of multiple clubs for a managerial role.
Further, it is thought that if Ten Hag is shown the exit door, the recruitment process “would be drastically shortened” as the Premier League giants did due diligence on a number of potential managerial candidates during the summer.
The last time United brought in a former striker to lead the side on an interim basis, he quickly improved the mood at the Theatre of Dreams. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer won his first eight games after taking over from Jose Mourinho and was eventually named the permanent manager of United in 2019.
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