Class of 92 star has explained why Manchester United might not sack Erik ten Hag

Erik ten Hag is facing a potentially decisive four days in his tenure - starting on Thursday night.

The Estadio do Dragao in Porto might have been the grand stage on which Jose Mourinho first caught the world's spotlight but, for the current Manchester United manager, it could well be the scene for one of his final acts at the club if he falls to another defeat.

Ominously, United's only two losses in eight matches with Porto have come in Portugal. However, the hosts come into this week's clash on the back of a shock defeat to Bodo/Glimt on the opening game-week, having already lost ground to main rivals Sporting Lisbon in their domestic title race.

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United can, nevertheless, expect a hostile atmosphere at the Dragao and have pressures of their own to combat having only drawn 1-1 with FC Twente last week. Anything but a win would hinder United's top-eight qualification hopes and further crank up the pressure on Ten Hag.

A subsequent trip to Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon is hardly a reprieve, either. A win in Europe would cool some of the heat on Ten Hag, but an adverse result there and at Villa Park - which will be rejuvenated from their first top-tier European night for 41 years - would reset the velocity of noise.

Points against Villa are imperative. Not just because anything else would denote just two wins from the opening seven league games but, also, because October's international break forces Ten Hag to wait another fortnight for his next opportunity to make amends. All the while, the board has time to reflect.

The Dutchman has given off the impression that he's not worried about his job, but the board would face serious questions regarding their summer managerial decision should United go into the international gap on a five-game winless streak.

The process by which Ten Hag was kept on has been criticised given his staying was, perhaps, down to Sir Jim Ratcliffe's 'failure' to find a successor. There's the possibility that the new regime will stick with Ten Hag beyond time to save face, having only just handed him a one-year renewal a few months ago.

Newly-appointed CEO Omar Berrada even said he "absolutely" has faith in the Dutchman to deliver. That came a few hours before the 3-0 humiliation to Liverpool.

Draws with Crystal Palace and Twente have since happened, while Sunday's display in the 3-0 loss to Tottenham rang alarm bells. However, not everyone will be calling for the head of Ten Hag.

Indeed, speaking to The Manchester Evening News in September soon after that defeat to Liverpool, Nicky Butt pointed to a reason why United should think carefully about showing their manager the door.

"There's no point sacking somebody if there's nobody to come in," he said. "Clubs all over the world do that and I think it's crazy.

"They sack a manager because it's not going well and they don't have any reasonable targets coming in, and then they bring another wrong one in and it's a knock-on effect."

Speaking at the same time, about Ten Hag, Butt went on: "For me, I'd give him time to get it right. It's the start of the season, we've only played three or four games and you've got to stand by him. If they don't do that, they just should have let go of him in the post-season."

A number of names have been tentatively linked with United should Ten Hag be sacked, including the ex-Juventus manager, Max Allegri. Ruud van Nistelrooy - who left PSV Eindhoven 18 months ago after 50 senior games in charge there - has also been tipped as a proposed successor.

He joined Ten Hag's backroom staff this summer alongside Rene Hake, who has more than 300 senior matches under his belt as a manager - and guided Go Ahead Eagles to their highest finish in the Netherlands for 15 years.

So there might be options, but whether or not the board believes any are suitable will ultimately dictate their call to sack Ten Hag. Judging by the last few months, there's no guarantee Ratcliffe will make a snap decision.