VILLA PARK could be the last-chance saloon for Erik ten Hag on Sunday — just as many felt it once was for Sir Alex Ferguson.
Back on Boxing Day 1989, Manchester United left on the end of a 3-0 hammering and Ferguson’s days as manager looked numbered.
Except, almost miraculously given the clamour for him to be sacked, Fergie time kicked in and he survived.
Steve Bruce, one of those who walked off to Holte End chants of “Fergie, Fergie on the dole!” believes, no matter today’s result, Ten Hag should be shown the same patience.
Now Blackpool boss, with two years in charge of Aston Villa on his CV, Bruce said: “Alex got time to turn things around and look what happened next.
“The same should go for Ten Hag. Of course fans are desperate for success — but so were they then, too.
“United this summer decided to stick with Erik. They made their decision and should stick to it now because, as we found under Fergie, things can and do turn around. Just give the guy a bit of time.”
Whether the club listen is open to question, with Ten Hag’s side — like United were 25 years ago — wallowing in the bottom half of the table.
Thursday’s Europa League failure to hold on to a two–goal lead, with Harry Maguire grabbing an equaliser in a 3–3 draw in Porto, only underlined how lost Ten Hag’s team are.
It came on the back of a 3–0 thumping at the hands of Spurs and the inability to beat FC Twente and Crystal Palace.
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Indeed, some United fans might say Ten Hag should not even get the chance to have a quick drink before getting the boot should his side succumb to Unai Emery’s Villa.
Yet 35 years ago it was grim indeed for Ferguson as he left the place.
Two weeks before that debacle there had been a shocking 2–1 home loss to Crystal Palace. And one United fan’s banner read: “Three years of excuses and it’s still c**p. Ta-ra Fergie.”
After that Villa loss, Sir Alex kept his players in the dressing room for a 40-minute hairdryer special.
Bruce, 63, said: “What took place in that dressing room was normal at the time. The defeat came at the end of two very tough years at the club when nothing seemed to be going right.
“The fans were up in arms, the gaffer was under big pressure.
“To say things were difficult would be a real understatement. At the time there seemed no way out.”
Ex-England full-back Viv Anderson, 68, Ferguson’s first signing after he arrived from Aberdeen in November 1986, also played against Villa in ’89.
He said: “The year before, we went to Hartlepool for a pre–season friendly and were 5–0 down at half-time.
“Sir Alex was trying to pull a team together, struggling like Ten Hag is now. So there were plenty of rants, yet THAT one really was a bit special.
“I remember Paul McGrath saying to him as he screamed in his face, ‘It’s OK, I’m just here, you know gaffer’.
“Well, it really kicked off then. The veins were sticking out of his neck as he went for us and, strangely enough, Paul was off to Villa the next season — and played in that 3–0.
“Mind you, we did better in the second half against Hartlepool. We only lost that 1–0!”
Welsh midfielder Clayton Blackmore, 60, another of the Villa Park culprits, said: “I’ve a good idea how hard it is for Ten Hag and the players as there’s no hiding place at Old Trafford.
“With Sir Alex in his first years it was always a bumpy ride. We were hit and miss, like United are now.
“For instance, before we got battered at Villa Park, we left Anfield with a 0–0 draw that everybody — including the gaffer — was pleased about.
“It’s how you handle the strain as a player, it’s not just about the manager. Sir Alex often went ballistic back then, even after we were winning.
“All we could do was keep trying to believe in ourselves. But those days were hard, just as they are for the current lot.
"It’s how you react that counts in the end — whether you pull yourself and your team-mates together that makes or breaks you.”
United had looked broken after that Villa Park defeat.
Ian Ormondroyd, 60, one of the stars of that victory, revealed: “Our manager, Graham Taylor, was a good motivator. And he said to us, ‘They’re struggling, they’re a poor team’.
“We felt pumped up, went out with our shoulders back and full of confidence.
“We believed that we could beat anybody — it’s a very similar situation for Villa ahead of this game.”
That Ferguson did survive was still a close-run thing. After Villa, Alan Cork grabbed a last-minute equaliser for Wimbledon at Plough Lane to deny United in a 2–2 draw.
Then another miserable performance allowed QPR to leave Old Trafford with a goalless draw.
Red Devils fans were by now clamouring for the head of Ferguson — and chairman Martin Edwards was preparing to give it to them.
But 15 days after Fergie’s 40–minute dressing-room rant, Mark Robins scored to give him a 1–0 FA Cup third-round win at Nottingham Forest.
And Bruce added: “The rest, as they say, is history. We went on to win the Cup that season and everything began to change.
“The most important thing about that period was that Sir Alex WAS given time — and the same should apply now.
“It was six years ago last Tuesday that Villa sacked me and that was a tough time, too.
“There was no money in the club. Me and some of the office staff were basically running it on our own.
“Now look at them — and I’m delighted for them. Beating Bayern Munich the other night was fantastic.
“The way Villa are back shows how fortunes can change in this game.
“Things got a whole lot better for Sir Alex and us. They can still get better for Ten Hag, too.”
Former Villa full-back Kevin Gage remembers that Boxing Day win — and his goal — with great pride.
Ian Olney and David Platt also netted that day for the hosts.
And Gage, 60, said: “It does seem amazing Fergie might well have been on the brink after this game and yet went on to win 13 top-flight titles.
“You could never have imagined it after this defeat.”
Taylor’s reputation was tarnished — in many ways unfairly — by his disastrous spell as England manager.
But Taylor, who sadly died in 2017, aged 72, was arguably at the peak of his powers that season before taking the Three Lions job in 1990.
Ormondroyd said: “He got slaughtered because of the TV documentary but he was the best manager I had. Graham was just tactically brilliant.”