Ten Hag's last stand? Why Ratcliffe must know Man Utd in deep to change course

COMMENT: As he takes his seat at Villa Park today. Fresh from seeing his Ineos team reach the America's Cup. Sir Jim Ratcliffe must know Manchester United are in too deep to change course now...

Erik ten Hag was comfortable. Certain sources close to the club were too. Even in the aftermath of Sunday's collapse to Tottenham, outside the hysterics of the likes of Gary Neville, those actually close to the protagonists showed no signs of panic. No prospects of a knee-jerk reaction. As Ten Hag insisted that he and the ownership were on the same page. So the same went for those sources inside Carrington. This was no act. No brave face. The belief from those in-the-know is that the manager is safe - no matter Sunday's result at Aston Villa.

And for this column, that's how it should be. Yes, given results and performance, Ten Hag deserves to be questioned. His approach and tactics pulled apart. He can't skate through a performance and result like we saw against Spurs.

But as we say, for everything that the club has put in place since before the start of preseason, the idea of sacking Ten Hag barely six weeks into the campaign would be madness.

Ruud van Nistelrooy. Rene Hake. Both identified by Ten Hag and brought to the club to support the manager. Andreas Georgson, a further addition, the Swede being convinced to drop his head coaching role with Lillestrom to join Ten Hag's staff. And then you have the goalkeeper coach too, Jelle ten Rouwelaar. Again, like Georgson, persuaded to quit Ajax barely weeks into the job to move to United. All that work by Simon Wilcox, United's director of football. All that commitment from those who have formed this newly assembled backroom dream team. Do they all simply follow Ten Hag out the door after six weeks of the season? It would make next-to-no sense.

And beyond the new coaching staff, what about the players? Matthijs de Lift. Noussair Mazraoui. Joshua Zirkzee. All three deals were influenced by Ten Hag's presence. Manuel Ugarte. Again, a player specifically requested by United's manager. A defensive midfield pivot signed for a specific role for a specific system. What would happen with a new manager and a different tactical approach less than two months into the season?

Max Allegri is ready. Tribalfootball.com being told by intermediaries that the former Juventus and AC Milan coach would jump at the chance of moving to Old Trafford. Over 18 months of regular English language lessons. Spending the summer studying Premier League football inside-out. Allegri is priming himself for a move to England. But as much this column admires the Italian, it's difficult to see how parachuting Allegri into United's camp, as it has been organised today, could successfully work.

Taking the 60,000 ft view and it's clear United have committed so much and are in so deep with Ten Hag that it would be madness to change course now. And this is no knock on Ratcliffe, Wilcox, Dan Ashworth nor Dave Brailsford. United's brainstrust were right to get fully behind their manager. It was a show of force and support not seen since the days of Martin Edwards and Sir Alex Ferguson. No matter what happens post-Villa, Ten Hag cannot say he wasn't given what he requested.

"We talk everyday," said Ten Hag pre-kickoff ahead of the midweek Europa League draw at Porto. "We are a union and we made that commitment in the summer.

“We refreshed the staff and I appointed my assistants, I appointed the staff. I did this. We refreshed the squad as well."

Spot on. And good that he acknowledges this. Ten Hag has been given total support by Ashworth and co. The staff. The team. It has his fingerprints all over it. United at the senior level are now a Ten Hag-themed... ahem... actually a Ten Hag-dominated setup. Everywhere you look his influence can be seen. Again, if the team was winning, it'd be celebrated. But for now, it should buy the manager some time to get things right.

But that's just it. Ten Hag needs to give those who have backed him something to cling onto. He needs to repay the support shown with a better performance and better results. And he's capable - as is his team. Steve McClaren reminding us as much last night: "I remember last season, Crystal Palace 4-0, it could have been 8-0 and thinking that this is the end but (then) winning the next four games culminating in a cup final again and winning the (FA) Cup."

The coaches. The players. Now Ten Hag needs one more thing from the higher-ups: the patience. And the irony is, without those first two, the third would've runout a long time ago. No matter the result at Villa Park, Ratcliffe must know, Manchester United are in too deep to change course now...