Ten Hag could be under greater pressure if Man Utd are beaten by Southampton
Manchester United face Premier League newcomers Southampton at the St. Mary’s Stadium in the first match on Saturday’s matchday four. The Red Devils will be presented with the opportunity to bounce back from two successive defeats in the English topflight against Brighton & Hove Albion and Liverpool.
They have beaten only Fulham so far this season while United also lost to Manchester City in the FA Community Shield on penalties at the beginning of August. Erik ten Hag has started the season under tremendous pressure after being let off the hook by the board earlier this summer.
Ex-Manchester United forward Louis Saha believes that Ten Hag’s position at Old Trafford could become ‘untenable’ if the Saints manage to overcome them on Saturday. In an interview, he said the following about the manager’s future (via Mirror):
“I think so. Against Liverpool, the issue was the performance rather than just the result, so Erik’s under pressure because the team isn’t playing well. There were no signs during the game that things were going to be fixed. On Saturday, if Southampton are able to dominate against Manchester United in the same way that Liverpool dominated last week, then the situation would be untenable for Ten Hag.”
Ten Hag would have no hiding place if he were defeated by Southampton as it would be an extremely embarrassing result considering they have not even picked up a point so far since returning to the Premier League. With the transfers United have backed the Dutchman with, his firing could come sooner rather than later if he loses his next match.
Manchester United have a couple of difficult fixtures after the Southampton game as they visit Selhurst Park to take on Crystal Palace, who beat them 4-0 last season, and then take on Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur. The team’s Europa League campaign is also due to get underway in a couple of weeks, so a series of good results is a must.
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A lot of United’s players were busy with international commitments for the better part of the last fortnight but how they perform against Southampton will go a long way in determining what lessons Ten Hag has picked up in that time as well.