Three good reasons why Manchester United should not sack Erik ten Hag

A former military police officer followed Erik ten Hag into the press conference room on Wednesday evening. It had been another criminal performance by Manchester United.

The club's latest managerial spiral has shades of Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho, with a dash of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Ten Hag's has been particularly sudden.

Ten Hag does not consider himself one of Van Gaal's disciples but he sounded as delusional as his compatriot in the wake of the Manchester derby, claiming United were "on the way up".

Seventy-two hours later, Ten Hag was no longer in denial. He mentioned the word 'responsibility' five times and admitted United's performances are "below the standards" after a second successive 3-0 thumping at Old Trafford.

The dressing room unrest is reminiscent of Mourinho's final months and United's defending is as porous as the final weeks of Solskjaer's tenure. United lost more games than they had when Solskjaer filmed his exit interview two years ago.

And now for the possible winter of discontent. Five of United's next six matches are away from Old Trafford. Not necessarily a negative, given they have lost five of their ten fixtures at Old Trafford this season.

Yet United's away form under Ten Hag is dire: 12 defeats in the Premier League and European competitions and only ten wins out of a possible 23 in the league.

It is also worth noting the destinations United are due at over a 39-day period from next week: Copenhagen, Everton, Istanbul, Newcastle and Liverpool. It is a treacherous period.

The Parken Stadium in Copenhagen is an atmospheric ground and United have no respite after the November internationals. There were soulless surrenders under David Moyes, Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick at Goodison Park,