Ten Hag giving ultimatum to win against Brentford or be fired

News24 reports that Manchester United head coach Erik ten Hag has been giving the opportunity to prove himself at Old Trafford this weekend as they host Brentford. This will determine if he will still retain his job or face the exit door..

Manchester United look set to cash in on the credit Erik ten Hag earned in his first season as manager by giving him time to put things right at Old Trafford. But the Dutchman must stop making a trifecta of mistakes if United’s diabolical start to his second campaign is to improve anytime soon.

The Red Devils have suffered their worst-ever start to a Premier League season, slumping in 10th on nine points after losing four of their opening seven games.

And back-to-back defeats to Bayern Munich and Galatasaray at the start of the Champions League campaign have left hopes of progressing from Group A in the balance.

Ten Hag’s situation hasn’t at all been helped by an unprecedented injury crisis, at one point during which he was missing 12 first-team players.

Returns have bolstered United in recent weeks, but five defenders, three of whom are usually starters, were absent in Tuesday’s 3-2 defeat against Galatasaray at Old Trafford.

Dimitar Berbatov believes that Andre Onana’s over-confidence is causing him problems in the early weeks of his Manchester United career.

Onana endured a dismal night on Tuesday as United were beaten 3-2 at home to Galatasaray, their second consecutive Champions League defeat. The 27-year-old was at fault for Casemiro’s red card after playing a loose ball straight to Dries Mertens, while he also went down far too early as Mauro Icardi dinked the ball over him for the winning goal.

It’s been a tough start at United for Onana, who arrived in a £47.2million deal in the summer. The Cameroon international has shown moments of brilliance in keeping the ball out of the net and then using it effectively, but rash moments have also been regular and Tuesday’s defeat was his worst night yet.

“The goalkeeper position is a difficult, strange, and sensitive one. Goalkeepers are a different breed in a way,” Berbatov told Betfair. “Onana is going to be the no.1, for sure. But his confidence is causing him to make mistakes. You can see that from his body language against Galatasaray.”

Frenkie de Jong informed his Barcelona teammates that an exit was on the cards last summer after Manchester United agreed a fee for the midfielder.

United came to an agreement with Barcelona over deal worth around £56million plus add-ons last June, around the same time they secured a move for Tyrell Malacia. The technical midfielder was Erik ten Hag’s priority target during his first window in Manchester.

However, complications regarding De Jong’s exit from Barcelona stalled a move, with the Dutchman owed around £15m in deferred wages. His prospective move to Old Trafford dragged on all summer before United eventually moved on, signing Casemiro from Real Madrid.

Following the closure of the window, De Jong insisted he was set on staying with the La Liga side and has since become a vital part of Xavi’s team. But according to teammate Gavi, a sale was very much on the cards.

That said, Ten Hag must now make some important decisions to attempt to steer the ship around and divert his sinking project back in the right direction.

If he opts against that, he will be at serious risk of losing the patience of the fans and, more importantly, the club’s under-pressure decision-makers.

Harry Maguire must be watching Victor Lindelof’s performances in central defence and thinking what on earth he has to do to get a game of football.

Sure, Maguire has been far from the United standard for a prolonged period. But the former captain impressed in the 3-0 Carabao Cup win over Crystal Palace and seems to have a strong relationship with Raphael Varane.

Yet, Ten Hag dropped him for Saturday’s defeat in the rematch against the Eagles and stuck with Lindelof against Galatasaray despite his poor showing days before.

It’s time to recall Maguire and use Lindelof to solve a second decision that has turned out to be a mistake. Get Sofyan Amrabat away from full-back.

Amrabat caught the eye on his first United start in the cup win over Palace but has been successfully targeted in the following two games.

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The 27-year-old looked panicked at the weekend – conceding the clumsy free-kick that led to Palace’s winner – and was at fault for two of Galatasaray’s goals on Tuesday.

Lindelof has experience playing at right-back. Play him there and use Diogo Dalot on the left until one of Luke Shaw, Sergio Reguilon or Tyrell Malacia return.

That, in turn, will help solve another problem. Casemiro, aged 31, cannot be starting every single game for United. He has been the definition of leggy this season, and it’s no surprise.

Moving Amrabat into his natural holding midfield position will help balance the workload and offer Casemiro a chance to rest.

That should hit two birds with one stone by getting the best of Amrabat by using him in the position he arrived to play in, and hopefully, the best out of a more rested Casemiro, too.

And finally, Bruno Fernandes is not a right-winger. He has never produced his best performances on the right wing. So it’s time to stop using him as a makeshift right-winger.

Fernandes is at his best when he’s given the freedom of the centre of the pitch, where he can dictate games and provide goals and assists by finding holes and making dangerous runs.

He never looks settled when pushed out wide and is as far as a wasted talent when he is.

Antony’s return will help solve that problem, but Mason Mount or Alejandro Garnacho would be more suitable alternatives when necessary.