Erik ten Hag has one game to save himself, but his Premier League rival warned against considering his job at Manchester United
Erik ten Hag's time at Manchester United is running out and it is Unai Emery who could soon be the architect of his final downfall.
But the Spaniard has been warned that, should a vacancy arise, he should No look at manchester united for your next management position.
It is widely believed that Man United's Premier League clash against Villa Aston Sunday, October 6, will be Ten Hag's last chance to save his job.
The Dutchman has had a miserable run of results for the Red Devils in recent weeks, including a 3-0 defeat to Tottenham, a 1-1 draw against Twente and a 3-0 defeat to Liverpool.
Their most recent 3-3 Europa League draw against Porto obscures the truth in a match that could have been much worse.
After blowing a 2-0 lead, only a late header from substitute Harry Maguire ensured ten-man United did not suffer an embarrassing defeat.
So, after two and a half years in office, has Ten Hag finally reached doomsday, or is his fate already sealed?
Our talkSPORT experts have had their say.
Jermaine Pennant
According to the former Liverpool winger and talkSPORT presenter Jermaine Pennant believes that Ten Hag's future is now on a knife's edge.
“Two goals up, and then go 2-2?” he exclaimed at The Sports Bar after the game. “That's just not Man United.
“That was really poor. And then they had to bring in Harry Maguire to save the day in the 90th minute?”
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“I'm going to call him 'One' Hag. Because he has one life left. He's not 'Ten' Hag anymore, he's 'One' Hag.
“It will be cheerio. If it's a bad result (against Villa), it's cheerio. I think they are covering up the cracks at the moment with that performance.
“He's just not good enough. And I've said it before. He's just not the person who's going to move you forward.”
“This is their third season. We've seen the teams: Chelsea after their second season, how much better they are. We've seen Spurs after their second season, how much better they are.
“Man United, with this being their third season, it's like they're going backwards!
And would Pennant fire Ten Hag right now if the decision was up to him?
“Absolutely!” he said without hesitation.
He added: “I don't see performances improving under this regime with Ten Hag.”
Simon Jordan
For the former Crystal Palace president Simon JordanFor Ten Hag it's just a matter of time.
And with a possible job vacancy on the line at Old Trafford, thoughts naturally turn to the list of successors.
One man whose current fortunes couldn't be more different to Ten Hag's is Villa's manager. Emery.
The former Arsenal boss has just achieved a dream result at Villa Park, seeing them beat German giants Bayern Munich in their first home Champions League clash in 41 years.
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Given the Villans' recent form, it is not a stretch to believe that Man United could be experiencing their next big defeat at the hands of Emery.
But if his Villa team perform in their characteristic fashion against Man United in their Premier League clash, things could take an interesting turn.
Not only could the Red Devils finally find themselves actively searching for a new coach, but one of the names on their shortlist could well have been the trigger for Ten Hag's departure: namely, Emery himself.
But for all the lure of the Man United job, Emery has been warned not to consider a future there by a man who knows everything about the business of football.
When asked if Villa's success could have the unintended effect of making Emery a desirable target for the Red Devils, talkSPORT's Jordan said the key point was whether it was the right decision for the manager himself.
“Why would you want to go to Manchester United right now?” said. “Manchester United is No the side to turn to, in addition to reputation.
“And I know I will always be the first person to say there is a challenge in that sense because it is the best job in English football if you can do it well.
“It's also the most difficult job. And right now, I imagine, Emery is very grateful for the opportunity he was given at Villa and is doing the job he was hired to do.
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“So the only job I can see… is the likely vacancy that I believe will occur sometime in the next six months at Ten Hag. But it's nowhere else.
“Because (Arsenal) aren't getting rid of Arteta. Guardiola will probably be here for a bit longer. And the new boy at Liverpool is barely getting his feet under the desk. So where else is he going to go? He He won't go to the Spurs!
“With that in mind, you look and say: this is the job. And this is the job that he has and that he is doing extraordinarily. And these are the type of clubs that he really likes to manage. He really likes to manage these clubs that are at this level to develop them.
Alex Crook
While Villa and Emery's game could prove crucial, for talkSPORT chief football correspondent Alex Crook, the writing is already on the wall given Man United's recent performances.
“That game last night in Portugal was like watching every game United played in the Champions League last season,” he said. “It was chaotic.
“Yes, they started well. But they quickly lost control, in my opinion they were grateful for not one, but two mistakes from the goalkeeper. Both goals could have been avoided from Porto's perspective.
“And then he got lucky. I couldn't believe the double change he made. You're chasing an away game at Porto: you bring in a veteran Jonny Evans and Harry Maguire.
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“You change both central defenders. And he will point out the fact that one of those central defenders came up and headed the equalizer off a set piece. That wasn't planning. It was fortune.
“And they seem to have more lives than the average house cat. I wouldn't be surprised if they beat Aston Villa. Because as a team, they are capable of doing that.”
But Crook pointed out that even a convincing result against Villa should not have the effect that last year's FA Cup victory had in obscuring the underlying root of the problem.
“If they are the owners, they cannot judge if we beat Villa, we will keep him in the position for a little longer. They have to be decisive now. They have to have a plan.
“They ruined everything (in the summer). They had a beauty contest where they interviewed every manager under the sun. In the end, they decided there was no better candidate?”
“Or did people like Roberto De Zerbi and Thomas Tuchel not like the job? I would probably suggest the latter. If they could have replaced Ten Hag in the summer, they would have done so. They undermined him in the dressing room for being so public about the fact that they were looking for a replacement.
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“Anyway, it's a poor locker room in terms of mentality. It's a dead man alive.”
Troy Deeney
Despite all the criticism, the only person who seems to remain continually optimistic about his own future is Ten Hag himself.
As former Watford captain turned talkSPORT pundit Troy Deeney As he noted, the way Ten Hag judges his own success seems wildly different from everyone else's.
“Everyone else (thinks he's on borrowed time) except him,” Deeney told talkSPORT. “He always sounds like he has a plan for the end of the year.
“It seems to me that he judges him based on what he wins, not based on the style of play, if we see performances.
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“If you win something at the end of the year, you feel like you should still be there.”
And he added: “Personally, I look at it after two and a half years and I still don't know what Manchester United is. I don't know if it is a team that presses, if it is a team that dominates the ball. I don't know what they do. Watching last night they were really poor.
But for all the talk, if history is anything to go by, Deeney is not convinced another thrashing for United is on the cards, and Ten Hag could yet extend his stay at Old Trafford.
“I think every time you think that if they lose this week, he's gone, they always pull a result out of nowhere,” he said. “They just pull a rabbit out of the hat every time.”
