Man Utd are on life support - good luck to next man foolish enough to take impossible job

Erik ten Hag knew the end was coming long before Manchester United

Ten Hag was aware he was effectively a dead man walking from the moment the hierarchy started talking to potential replacements for him in the summer.

Despite triggering his one-year contract extension after deciding to stick with him, he knew his alliance with United Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the United co-owner's newly-assembled executive team was an uneasy one, ultimately destined to fail.

Publicly, Ten Hag said all the right things – that he was aligned with United's new football leadership team, that they shared the same long-term vision for the club, were in daily dialogue and agreed there was no short-term fix to the team's deep-rooted problems.

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

Privately, though, Ten Hag accepted he was on trial after the events of the summer and knew he was in trouble on the back of United's worst-ever start to a Premier League season, before he was finally relieved of his duties after 128 games in charge.

On September 1, before United’s 3-0 mauling to arch rivals Liverpool, Berrada sat in the Old Trafford boardroom and insisted Ten Hag had the full backing of the club’s hierarchy, even if the team encountered a poor run of form and results. Now, 57 days later, Ten Hag has been jettisoned, the latest United boss to discover how hard it is to follow the unprecedented success enjoyed by Sir Alex Ferguson.

Ten Hag was vulnerable from the moment his trusted ally, United's former football director John Murtough, the man who appointed him, was forced to leave the club in April as part of Ratcilffe's radical overhaul.

After Murtough's exit, Ratcliffe put together a completely new football executive team, comprising CEO Omar Berrada, sporting director Dan Ashworth and technical director Jason Wilcox.

Who should be next Manchester United manager? Have your say

Yet the one position that remained unchanged was that of manager, although that was down to United's failure to reach agreement with a suitable candidate, rather than any firm belief in Ten Hag as the man to take the team back to the top.

When the pressure increased on Ten Hag this season with every humiliating defeat and chaotic performance, his default setting was to point to the two trophies he won in his first two seasons at United.

But that felt like an increasingly desperate last throw of the dice to convince his bosses and United fans he deserved to be given more time.

There was huge optimism at United after Ten Hag's first season, one in which he led them to third place in the Premier League and ended the club's six-year wait for silverware with the League Cup.

But an unprecedented number of injuries throughout last season ultimately saw United regress, with a worst-ever Premier League finish of eighth, the dismal campaign salvaged somewhat with a shock FA Cup final win over City, to secure a Europa League place.

But after backing him in the summer with a further £200million spent on players – which took Ten Hag's total outlay to £600m in two-and-a-half years – the United hierarchy did not expect the team to be in such a perilous position so early in the season.

United are now looking for their sixth permanent manager since Ferguson stepped down 11 years ago, the club once again mired in self-recrimination and facing another reboot under a new man in the dugout, with former striker and first-team coach Ruud van Nistelrooy taking temporary charge in the wake of Ten Hag’s exit.

Five permanent bosses – David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ten Hag – have tried, but ultimately failed, at United.

One interim manager, the plain-speaking Ralf Rangnick, publicly laid bare the state of disarray when he said United needed “open heart surgery”. This season and last, it has been more like a case of United being on life support at times, with the team dying before our eyes.

Ten Hag must shoulder some of the blame, for signing flops like Antony for £85m and Mason Mount for £60m, with the other signings like Andre Onana, Rasmus Hojlund, Matthijs De Ligt, Joshua Zirkzee and Manuel Ugarte have failed to fully convince.

With Ten Hag, United fans thought they finally had the right man to lead the club back to the glory days of Ferguson, when they dominated at home and abroad. But in the end he fell victim to what is fast becoming the impossible job for anyone brave – or foolish – enough to take it on.

and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our