“It’s a good dressing room and they fight for each other,” Erik ten Hag said after Manchester United beat Fulham with an injury-time Bruno Fernandes winner on Saturday. And perhaps there is some truth to that. There’s always a lot made when a manager comes under pressure of whether the squad are still fighting for him and, given they’ve won four of their last six games with last-minute heroics, it’s fair to say that this is not a group who are meekly accepting their fate. Then again, if you’re constantly having to get out of jail, it’s probably worth asking what you’ve done to get in there in the first place.
In the aftermath of the 3-0 defeats to Manchester City and Newcastle, there had been rumours swirling at the end of last week that Ten Hag would be sacked if United lost at Fulham, although the truth is that he is probably insulated until Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s 25% takeover of the club is resolved. As and when Ratcliffe does take charge of the football side of operations, though, he will have a clear question to answer over Ten Hag’s future.
