Ten Hag's future is in peril after his team got a dismal draw with Brentford

When Manchester United had their pants pulled down at Brentford last season, Erik ten Hag sent his stars on a punishment run the next day to make up for their lack of effort. If only it was that easy this time.

Ten Hag was new then. It was his second game in charge and a 4-0 defeat felt like nothing worse than a nasty wake-up call.

The Dutchman was the progressive manager hired to sort out a shambolic dressing room. It was all part of the process and Ten Hag even joined his players on the run that Sunday in August 2022 to emphasise the sense of shared responsibility.

United recovered from their embarrassment at the Gtech Community Stadium to finish third in the League, win the Carabao Cup and reach the FA Cup final. So how has it come to this? Why, 19 months longer in the job, were United outplayed and outfought by a team who had lost 15 of their last 20 games?

Because make no mistake, this crazy 1-1 draw was every bit as one-sided as Ten Hag’s last visit to Brentford and posed even more serious questions given the ramifications it could have for United’s hopes of Champions League qualification and Ten Hag’s chances of keeping his job beyond the summer.

‘That’s the sort of performance that gets the manager the sack because there was a lack of effort,’ said Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp.

After nearly two full seasons in charge and £400million spent on signings, Ten Hag still can’t get the basics out of his players. He was good enough to admit that Brentford showed more ‘passion and desire’, even if his claim that this point might prove to be crucial smacked of desperation.

United look like a team lacking identity or a plan; one who are happy to let opponents pepper their goal (Brentford had a staggering 31 attempts here)