Sir Jim Ratcliffe drops huge Erik ten Hag warning after sounding out four replacements

If needs an opinion on how ruthless is then he should give Sir Alex Ferguson a call.

The boss clearly feels that surviving the last international break with his team floundering in 12th place in the in the aftermath of a to bought him time.

But while United are unbeaten in all four of their games since – Ten Hag was given licence to carry on after Ratcliffe summoned the club’s leadership team to a seven-hour meeting in London on October 8 –there has been little to suggest the Reds are on the march.

More fixtures are looming in three weeks’ time. A day of reckoning might be looming. United are once again for the Dutchman. They have already spoken to former coach , the man who once made Nou Camp marvels tick in midfield.

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Sporting Lisbon’s also has his admirers - and the fact that he is being touted as a potential replacement for Guardiola at is a mouthwatering prospect given United have done plenty of business over the last decade with one eye on what the neighbours are doing.

Omar Berrada was recruited from the Etihad boardroom to become chief executive for a reason. Edin Terzic, the coach who guided to last season’s final, is available after leaving the Bundesliga club. And in Old Trafford’s corridors of power.

United did get rid of one manager this month. , the most successful manager in the club’s history, was after it was decided to save on his £2million-a-year salary. But forget the finances.

The most hurtful blow to the man who had a stand named after him after lifting 13 Premier League titles and two Champions Leagues was the edict banning him from going into the dressing room after matches. A tradition given to directors that stretches back to the days of has been done away with.

Ferguson, a living United legend who Ratcliffe is supposed to be in awe of, has been treated no better than the 250 staff who have been made redundant since Britain’s richest man spent £1.25billion of his fortune in February to secure a 27.7 percent stake in the club he supported as a boy.

The 82-year-old Scot hasn’t been back to Old Trafford since. He spent last weekend where he was wanted, travelling back to his Glasgow roots to watch former club come from 2-0 down to take a point from Scottish champions .

United travel to on Sunday. They entertain in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday before welcoming Chelsea to Old Trafford on Sunday. After meeting PAOK of Athens in the Europa League, it’s Leicester at home before the international break.

By then, United’s season will have been shaped by four successive home games in three competitions. Despite the slight upturn in results, there has only been one victory over to add power to Ten Hag’s one-eyed observation that the season can still be a success.

United are now in 12th place in the Premier League. They started the weekend 10 points adrift of leaders Liverpool and eight points better off than third-bottom . Thursday night’s means they have won just one of their last 11 European games - and that solitary success against Copenhagen was more than a year ago.

United sit slumped in 21st position after failing to win any of their opening three games in Europe, despite taking the lead in every one of them. Last season, after a campaign in which Ten Hag’s training methods were questioned after a succession of injuries decimated his squad, the narrative was that the Dutchman rescued himself by .

Yet United spent the summer talking to Thomas Tuchel, Roberto De Zerbi, Graham Potter and Kieran McKenna before handing the Dutchman a one-year contract extension and a £200million transfer kitty.

Ten Hag has now spent £600million in five transfer windows during his time at Old Trafford. Yet he travels to the London Stadium with eight players on the casualty list and in hope that 36-year-old Jonny Evans will be fit. Whether Sir Alex is there is another matter.

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