Man Utd-linked Thomas Frank assesses Erik ten Hag’s quality, opens up on situation at Old Trafford

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Manchester United’s game against Brentford on the weekend is important for Erik ten Hag and his continued fight to convince fans of his future.

However, there is an added spice to the fixture as the man in the opposition dugout is one who has been linked to the Man Utd manager job in his place.

Thomas Frank to Man Utd rumours had quietened down a little recently but with Thomas Tuchel recently joining England, Frank will become an attractive option again.

Therefore, for Frank, it would be a great audition for the job if he manages to get one over Erik ten Hag, something the Dutchman would be desperate to avoid.

Ten Hag’s record vs Brentford is nothing to write home about but his team has generally shown the ability to bounce back when everyone counts them out.

Meanwhile, Frank has given his own thoughts on the job Ten Hag is doing at Old Trafford as he opened up on the situation at the club.

Thomas Frank on Erik ten Hag’s time at Man Utd

With the team sitting in 14th place in the league, the need for three points is extremely urgent at Manchester United.

A tricky run of fixtures is approaching and even though this one is at home, the Manchester United vs Brentford prediction is never an easy one to make.

With Ten Hag fighting for his job, he could have been forgiven for hoping that there are voices in support of his tenure so when the question was put forward to Frank in the press conference to the buildup of the game, all eyes were on him.

The Danish manager looked eager to talk about the scrutiny his United counterpart is facing, ruing the extremist nature of judging managers, backing Ten Hag’s quality.

He said: It’s incredible how much scrutiny he’s had to face. As a head coach, I acknowledge how it feels to be in a situation like this. I think [the criticism] is too much.

“He’s clearly a good coach, he’s won two trophies in two seasons. But I understand how it is: if the team wins, the head coach is absolutely fantastic; if the team loses, the head coach is absolutely s***! Whereas it’s probably somewhere in between.

“It’s never only the head coach, or the players, or the fans, or the board – it’s a combination of all of these things.”

Frank added that he doesn’t pay attention to the form sheet and recognise they go to Old Trafford as the underdogs but one with the gameplan to maximise their chances of winning.

Assessing Frank’s words

Thomas Frank has coincidentally echoed Ten Hag’s own defence of his tenure, talking about the two trophies he’s won at the club.

That defence looks increasingly fragile in light of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s comments about trophy vs progression and Ten Hag looks like an unfortunate casualty of the same.

As for his comments about Ten Hag being judged between two extremes, it slightly twists the narrative because it is fair to assume that any manager would have been long gone with this sequence of results over the last 18 months or so at any other elite club.

Here, the Man Utd fans have still not turned on him completely and hope remains that he recovers the mojo that made his debut season a success but the straws are getting increasingly fewer to grasp on.

The run of fixtures before the next international break might well decide if he stays after that or not because this one came too early and the situation can still be salvaged.

By the next one, it would be clear. Either it will be salvaged, or somebody else will come in to save it.

In an ironic twist of fate, that person might well be Thomas Frank.