Erik ten Hag's disheartening admission doesn't bode well for his Manchester United reign

Among the bullish - or deluded, depending on your perspective - optimism and the clinging to positives after yet another derby day humiliation, there was a telling admission that does not bode well for Erik ten Hag's reign at Manchester United.

How quickly things can change. After a decade of decline, United finally enjoyed a long-awaited year of progress last term after at long last hiring a modern manager with progressive ideas and a cool head in hot situations. The way in which Ten Hag fairly but firmly dealt with a star as big as Cristiano Ronaldo's dissidence was as promising as the gradual upturn in results.

It was clear the squad was not yet ready to play Ten Hag's ideal style but the Dutchman came to that realisation quickly and was pragmatic and humble enough to change his tactics to better suit the tools available to him. The aim - or so it seemed - was always to move United into the modern age and refine a rag-tag collection of players into a squad capable of sophisticated pressing structures and attractive attacking play. To play a level of football able to compete with the elite and challenge for the biggest prizes.

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The end of the club's trophy drought and the eventual securing of a return to the Champions League were tangible proof that the club was finally heading in the right direction again. With his feet firmly under the desk and progress being made in less-than-ideal circumstances, the new season should see United kick on further and move closer to how Ten Hag wants his teams to play.

It's a plan that has unravelled as if Mystery Inc. were investigating it. United have