Erik ten Hag has been mocked for his Manchester United catchphrase - now we need to see it

You've probably seen the viral video by now, the one produced by the outstanding Bryan's Gunn social media account that welds together several clips of Erik ten Hag saying "stick to the plan" alongside Dion Dublin, one-time Manchester United striker and now TV presenter, asking what exactly the plan is.

It wasn't created solely to poke fun at Ten Hag, and no football figure is spared from one of the funniest accounts on X, a platform rapidly losing its ability to inject a little humour into the day. Whoever runs the account might be doing an edit on Friday after Ten Hag once again turned to his favourite phrase.

The Dutchman was in a jovial mood for his pre-Brentford press conference on Friday. He was always convinced he would remain in charge for a 126th game as United manager, but that looked a little more touch and go than Ten Hag projected.

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He has overseen a five-game winless streak, has three wins from 11 this season and 27 from 63 since the start of last season, so it's hardly a surprise that there is a feeling he is now in added time at Old Trafford.

Ten Hag continues to project an air of bullish confidence despite the results. Maybe the break has done him some good, as he certainly talked a better game than he has recently, 24 hours out from a fixture he really needs to win but surely can't afford to lose.

When asked if he had received assurances about his position, he insisted the speculation was a media invention before turning to his favourite phrase.

"The noise is only coming from the media, from you guys. From some of you, not all of you, but some of you. Bringing up stories, creating stories, creating fairy tales, making noise, bringing lies," he said.

"Because I know we are all on one page in this club. I told this before the break, I told several journalists, they didn't believe me. I see the reports, but internal in the club it's quiet.

"Of course, we are discussing the position where we are, that we are unhappy in the position where we are and we have to turn the corner, what has to happen with a strategy to turn this corner.

"But ultimately we are quiet, we are composed, we stay where we are, we stick to the plan and we are very convinced we will make it a success."

The problem with saying "stick to the plan" is that, to quote Dublin from the Homes Under the Hammer clip on that social media video, "tell us what the plan is".

One of Ten Hag's United's biggest problems is that after 125 games, we still don't really know what the plan is. The aim is to win trophies, something he has already achieved, but the plan should revolve around playing style, patterns of play, and squad make-up.

Too often United look unsure of what they're doing. There have been moments this season when things have threatened to come together. They were excellent for an hour at Southampton and for 45 minutes at Crystal Palace, but it's not been enough and it's not been sustainable.

As technical director, Jason Wilcox has been developing a game model for United, a style of play that every team and age group can follow. The first team should lead the way on that.

Ten Hag has survived a flirt with the sack over the last couple of weeks, but if he's to turn United's fortunes around, he has to deliver now. Results need to improve, but performances also need to improve, and there needs to be a clear indication of the plan.