Erik ten Hag: Has Manchester United manager done enough to avoid the sack?

Manchester United and Ten Hag may be happy with a draw at Villa Park, a tough assignment as Bayern Munich discovered when they were beaten here in the Champions League on Wednesday, but it cannot disguise the manager and the team’s continued struggles.

United’s failure to win means they have their worst points tally after seven games of the Premier League era.

It is their worst start since 1989-90, when they finished 13th in the First Division, and the sight of more than £300m-worth of Ten Hag signings starting on the bench painted a grim picture of the club’s desperately flawed recruitment strategy under him.

They did, at least, show some of the organisation and fight missing in the embarrassing 3-0 loss at home to Tottenham last Sunday and some of the defensive resilience that disappeared after a good start in Porto.

United have now gone five games without a win, the first time in five years this has happened, and while this was an improved performance it still leaves them with only two league wins so far this season.

This was not what Ratcliffe and United’s powerbrokers had in mind when they eventually decided to stand by Ten Hag this summer, after casting their net but failing to find a suitable alternative.

United at least had shape and a semblance of organisation, a sharp contrast to Spurs and Porto, but there is still no evidence of what clear identity Ten Hag is attempting to fashion.

The fixture list after the international break starts with a home game against Brentford before a trip to Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce in the Europa League, West Ham United away, then Leicester City at home.

If Ten Hag survives – and he still sounded confident after this draw at Villa – more positive results must come instantly.