‘We will fight’ – Ten Hag still defiant but is Man Utd boss on brink?

As the clocked ticked past 90 minutes at Estadio do Dragao, Erik ten Hag seemed to be staring into the abyss.

His Manchester United side had squandered a two-goal lead against Porto and were heading to a morale-sapping defeat.

A defeat that may not have confirmed the end of Ten Hag’s time at Old Trafford but would certainly have left him teetering, closer than ever, to the edge.

But before that scenario could become a reality, Harry Maguire leapt to head an equaliser and ease the pressure, if only marginally, on his manager.

“We will get there,” Ten Hag told TNT Sports. “Don’t judge us in this moment, judge us at the end of the season.

“We are in the process, we will improve. We have had two seasons where we have reached finals, we will continue and fight.”

With United currently 13th in the Premier League table, though, and speculation following a timid 3-0 home loss to Tottenham that Ten Hag had two games to save his job, the Dutchman’s judgement is likely to arrive much sooner if there are not big improvements.

“You see the spirit and the connection between the staff and the team,” Ten Hag added.

“The players are together, they have a strong spirit and they want to achieve. We have a good mentality but in some defending parts we have to step up.

“We had three clean sheets not a long time ago so we can defend very good, but we have to go back to those habits.”

Despite Ten Hag’s continued belief in himself and his team, the numbers suggest the scepticism from elsewhere may be justified.

Since the Dutchman joined the club in 2022, no Premier League club have conceded three or more goals in a match more times in all competitions than United’s 24.

Moreover, in the 62 games they have played since the start of last season, United have conceded on 31 occasions – the most of any current Premier League side.

They have kept four clean sheets so far this season but for a team with aspirations of competing for the top honours at home and in Europe, letting in two goals or more every other game is suboptimal to say the least.

In means that despite achieving the impressive feat of scoring three goals in their last four European away games, United have lost two and won none.

The draw in Porto was also another example of another unwanted habit they have developed: throwing away leads.

The Red Devils have now gone five games without a win in European competitions despite leading by at least two goals in three of them.

In fact, United have failed to win on each of the last four occasions in which they have gone two goals up in Europe.

Having already faced questions over their ability to score goals this season, it really does not bode well that they are conceding with such frequency – and even when they do get themselves in front, they are liable to let their opponents back in.

Even having avoided defeat in Portugal, Ten Hag remains under intense scrutiny before Sunday’s return to league action at Aston Villa.

He stayed on in the summer, after the disappointment of an eighth-place finish was offset somewhat by winning the FA Cup.

But while a poor start to this campaign has seen the pressure on the 54-year-old ramped up again, Mark Ogden, senior writer for ESPN, does not expect Ten Hag to be sacked even if United lose at Villa Park.

“I’ll be surprised if he lost his job,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live. “On the basis that the money is an issue.

“Manchester United are hoping he turns it round. He is obviously walking a tightrope.”

But how long he remains if results do not significantly improve is another matter.

“The demeanour from the players is it’s like they’ve just had a maths lesson with a teacher they don’t like and they’re all coming out confused,” Ogden added.

“There’s not really any kind of warmth from Erik ten Hag to the players. Ten Hag doesn’t have the charisma to manage at a top club.”

To overcome a Villa side buoyed by a famous win over Bayern Munich, Ten Hag will have to find a way to inspire his players or face succumbing to a fourth league defeat in seven games.

“Erik’s resilient, he’s shown that but Villa Park is going to be so tough,” former Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves told TNT Sports.

“It’s a big test and he needs to find a way to bounce back.

“Before the game, we’re highlighting they’ve got goalscoring issues. Today they had defensive issues. At times it looks like they get something sorted and then something else goes.

“There are a lot of issues, he’s [Erik ten Hag] been there for quite a while. There’ll be a lot of questions.”