By Wayne Veysey

4th Oct, 2023 | 6:12am

Man United edge closer to sacking Ten Hag as crisis deepens and dodgy dealings come to light

ANALYSIS

Man United are in crisis.

The word from the club is they are not yet considering sacking Erik ten Hag despite their worse start to a season in 37 years and the days of Ron Atkinson.

But the club’s hierarchy, led by the Glazer family and chief executive Richard Arnold, will edge closer to pressing the trigger in the wake of Tuesday night’s act of self-sabotage that leaves them with a Champions League record this season of two defeats from two matches.

United have now lost two on the trot following Saturday’s Premier League home defeat by Crystal Palace, five of their past seven games and six out of 10 in all competitions this season.

It is a lamentable record and a dreadful return given how much Ten Hag was backed in the summer window, when he had a huge say in the £179million influx of new signings and was given carte blanche to reshape a squad that had a promising first campaign under his command.

The home defeat to Galatasaray was an awful night for the Dutchman, who stood in the pouring rain late on watching his team capitulate in a manner as rotten as the weather.

“No panic” are the two words attributed to well-placed sources at United.

Well, fans are starting to worry, despite the encouraging signs from £72million new boy Rasmus Hojlund, who is starting to look the part.

The United defence was once again all over the place against Galatasaray, Casemiro looks to be raging against the dying of the light and new keeper Andre Onana made another dreadful blunder.

David de Gea. A penny for your thoughts?

The team still look a top-class centre-back and central midfielder short, and the Mason Mount signing looks weirder by the day.

Who exactly at Old Trafford allowed Ten Hag to rely so conspicuously on a single agency, who just happen to represent him and employ his son, in the summer window?

It’s embarrassing, dodgy and unworthy of such a great institution of British football.

Ten Hag has credit in the bank. He has won 46 of his 72 matches in charge and United’s League Cup victory earlier this year ended a barren run of six years without a trophy.

But that will count for little if the horror run doesn’t end soon.

Should the defeats continue, Ten Hag will be gone before we turn on our central heating.

In other news, Man United ‘two-man shopping list’ revealed – and it’s a surprise