Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images.
Manchester United have endured another miserable start to the season.
Winning just two of their first six Premier League games, the Red Devils sit 12th in the table, eight points off leaders and bitter-rivals Liverpool.
United’s latest showing on Sunday saw the side put in one of their worst performances under Erik Ten Hag as Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs ran riot at Old Trafford — beating the home team 3-0.
Bruno Fernandes one of two Man United players key to Erik Ten Hag’s future
And to compound Ten Hag’s misery, captain Bruno Fernandes, who is in worrying form, was shown a straight red card for a poor tackle on James Maddison and will now miss his side’s next three league games.
With Fernandes out and United set for a busy six-game October, including two Europa League games against Porto and Fenerbahce, the pressure to immediately turn results around is very much on Ten Hag.
And according to Football Insider, although United’s board haven’t pulled the trigger yet, Fernandes’ influence will be pivotal in deciding Ten Hag’s future.
The Portuguese midfielder, along with 26-year-old Marcus Rashford, is viewed as the side’s most senior and prominent players, therefore, the pair’s relationship with Ten Hag, which have at times been strained, ‘hold the key to his future at Old Trafford’.
Failure to get both on side and really push to improve United’s position will almost certainly lead to the Dutchman’s dismissal with assistant manager Ruud Van Nistelrooy primed to take over.
