Straightforward Erik ten Hag replacement at Man Utd will become more difficult to appoint the longer Ineos dither

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A Manchester United manager is only ever as good as their last result but Erik ten Hag seems to have gotten out of so many ruts at the club he feels invincible.

However, after failing to follow up the win vs Brentford by losing to West Ham, the end really does seem near, especially with Chelsea at Old Trafford the next league game.

There’s Leicester in the League Cup before and with the next international break after November 10, only a lossless run till then, consisting of four fixtures, should quieten the noise.

Of course, going by current form, not many fans would predict that will actually happen which means the search for an Erik ten Hag replacement at Man Utd needs to intensify.

Unfortunately, the longer Ineos dither, the most straightforward appointment becomes trickier and trickier to make.

Ruud van Nistelrooy’s tricky predicament

Man Utd fans fondly remember the caretaker spell of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer when his mere arrival through the doors cleansed the vibe of Carrington.

Jose Mourinho’s toxicity went with him and the Norwegian had his players playing thrilling, attacking football free from the politics and drama.

As a legend of the club, he commanded the immediate respect of the dressing room as well which contributed toa fruitful run as caretaker.

In many ways, Ruud van Nistelrooy arrived as a similar, celebrated figure who won the hearts and minds of United fans with his ruthless scoring.

However, he arrived as Ten Hag’s assistant, and even though Van Nistelrooy has maintained the goodwill with the fans, he is in a tricky predicament.

The former striker can’t be seen as stabbing Ten Hag in the back by undermining him for the main job and at the same time, his reputation is being hurt by association with this struggling regime.

That’s something Solskjaer never had to deal with and that makes the most straightforward appointment Ineos can make increasingly tricky with every passing loss.

Ineos need to act fast

When Van Nistelrooy came in, it was cynically believed to be a “fail safe” by Ineos in case things went wrong for Ten Hag.

Nine league games in, it has gone so remarkably bad for him that not even a “fail safe” looks actually safe at this point because of his sheer association with this team.

Van Nistelrooy has recently started doing things to distance himself from the mess which, while cynical, is understandable because the stench of Ten Hag’s failings is bound to reach everyone soon.

The bigger factor for Solskjaer working was that he was an outside presence making his triumphant return to the club as a saviour of sorts.

When Van Nistelrooy steps in, he will have to shed the tag of being “Ten Hag’s man” since the manager has repeatedly stressed he was the one who chose his staff this summer.

Therefore, Ten Hag continuing to lose games as manager doesn’t reflect well on his staff either and the longer this goes on, the less euphoric Van Nistelrooy’s appointment will be.

Ineos need to act fast because their straightforward Ten Hag replacement Man Utd isn’t looking so straightforward anymore.