Time is what Erik ten Hag needs, just a little more time to integrate new players, get a left-back fit and find the improvement that clearly lies within his Manchester United team. The problem for Ten Hag is that so much time has already passed.
The Dutchman has had his moments at Old Trafford but for a year he has been trending in the wrong direction and what he really needs now is a leap of faith from Ineos. He needs Dan Ashworth and Jason Wilcox to ignore the evidence on the pitch for the jam tomorrow they are being told is coming at Carrington.
The only way Ten Hag can get the time he desires now is through results. He is unlikely to survive a defeat at Aston Villa on Sunday but if he picks up a positive result at Villa Park he could limp on through the international break. Every point and especially every victory is essentially buying more time.
But the sound of the clock ticking is unavoidable and if things go badly again in the Midlands this weekend then Ashworth, Wilcox, Omar Berrada, Sir Dave Brailsford and Sir Jim Ratcliffe should be able to glance down from the posh seats and see exactly why a plea for more time should fall on deaf ears.
Ten Hag has had that time. He is into his third season at United. Sunday will be his 125th game in charge and more than £600m has been lavished on players in three summer windows. Yes, his job hasn’t been easy. There has been an injury crisis and off-field distractions, but it should still be better than the grim roll call of statistics that have filled social media feeds since Thursday night.
If he presides over another defeat on Sunday, then the handshake with Unai Emery at full-time will be painful. Emery is the leading example of why time shouldn’t always be required and might not be the answer.
The Spaniard arrived at Villa Park in November 2022, three months after Ten Hag’s first game in charge of United. His first game was in charge was a 3-1 success against United but Emery lost six of his first 12 games as Villa boss after inheriting a side lacking a style under Steven Gerrard.
But having taken over a side 16th in the Premier League, Emery took Villa to a final placing of seventh. The following season they rose to fourth and reached the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League. This term, they are fifth and have just beaten Bayern Munich to make it two wins out of two in the Champions League.
While Villa are on a continuous path of improvement under Emery and have been since the first couple of months of his tenure, United look to be in reverse under Ten Hag. They have won just 27 of 62 games since the start of last season.
Emery has improved the players he inherited. You only have to look at the trajectory of players such as Emiliano Martinez, Ezri Konsa, John McGinn, Leon Bailey and particularly Ollie Watkins to see that. His signings have also tended to make the team better. Morgan Rogers, Pau Torres and Amadou Onana have all strengthened the side.
Ahead of the weekend, these two managers share an almost identical win ratio. Ten Hag has won 55.65% of his 124 games at United and Emery has won 55.43% of his 92 games at Villa. But they are clearly heading in opposite directions.
Emery doesn’t need any more time to make his side successful. They play in a clearly defined image and look streets ahead of United. Ten Hag has to deliver now.