How Erik ten Hag's simple change is helping Manchester United realise their top-four potential

When Manchester United fell to a humiliating defeat to Brentford in just their second game of the season it looked as if another year of doom was brewing.

United had enjoyed an optimism-inspiring summer. An exciting and forward-thinking coach in Erik ten Hag was hired, pre-season performances were promising and a few good signings had been made. The wantaway Cristiano Ronaldo and the slow progress in the hunt for other recruits were cause for concern but hopes were high when the season kicked off against Brighton. They were quickly brought crashing back down to earth.

That creeping dread of nothing having changed at all quickly began to seep in as United lost to the Seagulls and then suffered a 4-0 humiliation against Brentford. The season was only a week old but already the pressure was on Ten Hag as he watched on. How could he turn this around?

One of the biggest criticisms to come out of the game at Brentford, aside from the diabolical errors that led to the opening goals, was United's lack of effort and hard work. They were significantly outrun by their opponents, with the Bees putting in nearly 14km more.

In the first training session after the defeat, Ten Hag made his players run the 13.8km they lacked in London as punishment - though he did do it alongside them to show it wasn't just them who were to blame.

There was an instant response in the next game as United turned over rivals Liverpool and embarked on a four-game winning streak in the league. Though there was also a victory over Arsenal, it wasn't that impressive. The run was intersected with defeat in the Europa League and the football was clearly a compromise as Ten Hag gradually worked to get his ideas across, with the other two wins ground out against struggling sides. It was brought to an abrupt end, too, in brutal fashion by Manchester City.

But all the while steady progress was being made and on Wednesday all the hard work finally bore fruit with a great performance against Tottenham. It was only a 2-0 win but with better finishing and worse goalkeeping, it could have been a whitewash. Within 26 minutes United had more shots than they've had in any other game, finishing on 28.

But it wasn't just the attacking play that was so good, it was the relentless pressing that allowed it to happen. United pushed Spurs so high up the pitch, hemmed into their own box, that the chances just continued to come.

Jurgen Klopp once said: "No playmaker in the world can be as good as a good counter-pressing situation." That couldn't have been more true at Old Trafford.

But it was only possible because United ran themselves ragged. The full-backs never stopped bombing the flanks, Fred and Bruno Fernandes were everywhere and the attacking trio harrassed the Spurs backline. It's exactly what Ten Hag has been building towards.

United's players ran 114.4km in the 90 minutes, the highest of Ten Hag's reign and, crucially, near 20km more than they did on that awful afternoon in Brentford. The trick now is to sustain, perhaps even continue to build upon, that improvement.

If United continue to do so then Ten Hag's first season may end a lot better than it started.