ERIK TEN HAG could have done with a calm international break after the horror show against Liverpool 11 days ago.
But after two seasons in charge, he must know by now that rarely happens at Manchester United— particularly not after a defeat like that.
And sure enough, the Red Devils’ most famous old boy, Cristiano Ronaldo, cranked up the pressure with yet another pop at his former boss yesterday.
Not exactly what ETH needed as he tries to turn round a concerning start to the new campaign of one win and back-to-back defeats.
Portuguese superstar Ron was not the only one wading in on Ten Hag during the break.
Champions League winner Teddy Sheringham started things off by insisting the Dutch boss will be gone by Christmas.
Such views were in stark contrast to the messages coming out of the club in the days following the 3-0 Old Trafford humiliation to their hated rivals.
New execs Omar Berrada and Dan Ashworth had publicly backed 54-year-old Ten Hag after handing him a new deal in the summer.
They were also patting themselves on the back for their dealings over the course of a busy transfer window.
That is all well and good but the timing could have been better with fans still licking their wounds from the mauling by the Scousers.
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Meanwhile, the transfer window may have ended before the international break — but that did not stop the rumours swirling.
Brazilian stars Casemiro and Antony, both of whom have had a nightmare recently, were being linked with moves to Turkey.
In the end, both are staying at Old Trafford — although do not expect the Stretford End to celebrate too wildly.
Ten Hag took advantage of the time off by making a quick trip back to the Netherlands to manage one of the teams in a testimonial at his former club FC Utrecht.
He came out on the winning side in that game but he cannot have failed to notice the criticism his 25-year-old summer signing Matthijs de Ligt was receiving back home.
Ten Hag hopes the former Bayern Munich defender will be one of the building blocks of his new-look team after his capture in a deal worth £42.7million.
But De Ligt came under fire for allowing 38-year-old former Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko a simple goal for Bosnia & Herzegovina in Holland’s 5-2 Nations League win on Saturday.
And on Tuesday night, against Germany, MDL was hooked at half-time by boss Ronald Koeman after being at fault for both goals in the 2-2 draw.
The Dutch coach said afterwards he felt he had little choice but to take the centre-back out of the firing line.
De Boer said: “Of course I would rather have kept him on the pitch. It just looks like he is now in a period where all his mistakes are being punished.
“I gave him a new chance against Germany but eventually I protected him by taking him off.”
His international team-mate, defender Virgil van Dijk, was part of the Liverpool team who thumped United at the beginning of the month when Casemiro went through something similar.
Van Dijk did not have much sympathy for De Ligt afterwards, saying: “This is football. You have to learn from this.
“It was one moment but at the highest level you will get punished for it.”
Ten Hag will be praying his new boy does not let it affect him, with fellow centre-backs Leny Yoro and Victor Lindelof currently sidelined.
The manager really needs to start justifying the faith shown in him by the new United hierarchy — starting at newly promoted Southampton on Saturday.
That is the first of a hectic run of seven games in 22 days across three different competitions before the next international break early next month.
Yesterday’s news of a £113.2m loss last season shows how far the new ownership — led by billionaire businessman Sir Jim Ratcliffe— have reached to give Ten Hag their backing.
So a return of one win from the opening three matches was not the start they were looking for.
The manager famously said after the defeat to Liverpool that he is not Harry Potter and that his new signings need time to bed in.
Yet he really needs to start seeing some magic from the £198.8m-worth of new faces he brought in during the summer as yet another major outlay brings more pressure.
So the games played by 23-year-old Manuel Ugarte for Uruguay in recent days will be welcome news for the Red Devils boss.
The midfielder, who arrived in a £50.8m deal from Paris Saint- Germain, shook off the effects of a fever to play against Venezuela on Tuesday before heading back to Manchester.
Ugarte feels he needs to show United why they pushed so hard to sign him over several weeks.
He said: “This last month has been complicated because it was a difficult negotiation and United promised to take me and now I’m going to have to prove it.”
He will not be the only one with something to prove as the Premier League returns with United’s Saturday lunchtime trip to St Mary’s.
Nine managers Man Utd considered before keeping Erik ten Hag
ERIK TEN HAG appears to be safe as Man Utd manager, but the Dutchman edged dangerously close to the sack.
Here are nine managers Red Devils chiefs are reported to have considered for the job and what allegedly happened with each.
Gareth Southgate
Enjoys plenty of support among Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos chiefs but made clear he wouldn’t talk to any clubs until after Euro 2024. There is yet to be any suggestion that contact was made with the England boss.
Kieran McKenna
Talks were opened with McKenna’s representatives before the FA Cup final, but the former Man Utd coach opted to sign a new deal with Ipswich after Ten Hag’s Wembley win.
Roberto De Zerbi
Allegedly sounded out before the FA Cup final with salary expectations discussed. But Ineos chiefs concluded ex-Brighton boss was not the right fit for the project.
Thomas Frank
Brentford boss met Man Utd representatives the day before the FA Cup final. The Dane also dined with Ratcliffe, Roy Hodgson and Frank Lampard at the launch of a new Ineos car in February.
Marco Silva
Fulham boss reportedly met Man Utd representatives face-to-face two days before the FA Cup final, around the same time as Ten Hag was conducting his press conference.
Mauricio Pochettino
Fell out of Man Utd’s thinking in the first week of June, despite being a favourite of Sir Alex Ferguson.
Thomas Tuchel
Made a very strong impression and came across well during a Monaco meeting. Personal terms were discussed before the ex-Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss decided to step back from the process.
Ruben Amorim
Sporting boss was discussed by the Man Utd hierarchy but did not make the final reckoning.
Roberto Martinez
Portugal manager was considered in the early stages.