Man Utd news: Opinion – Ineos’ Ten Hag dilemma could be limited to finances

Manchester United may have shown signs of improvement in some areas in the early stages of the season, but football is a results business, particularly in the M16.

And there’s only so much that even the most patient of fans – a reputation I try my best to uphold, at least publicly – can accept.

Two consecutive 3-0 home defeats in the league are unacceptable. I could repeat the stronger adjectives I used on Sunday, but that’s the part I’ll keep to myself.

The official word is that Ineos continues to support Erik ten Hag, who is expected to oversee this week’s daunting trips to Porto and Aston Villa.

This flies in the face of the increasingly loud calls for change coming from more and more fans who are fed up with watching their team waver and fall while their rivals triumph and thrive.

However, there is one key element that many forget and that could be the main reason why Ten Hag was offered a third season in the dugout despite Ineos not being convinced at all.

It boils down to finances. United recently laid off around 250 staff as part of a ruthless cost-cutting process overseen by Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

The club had to pay around £10m to end Ten Hag’s final year of contract in the summer. Now, after deciding to extend his contract as a show of confidence, he has 21 months left.

Ineos can ill afford many more hiccups so early in what has been heralded as the start of a new era at United.

It wouldn’t be a good idea to spend up to £18m to sack a manager now, months after backing him with a further £200m in the transfer market.

However, continuing this apparent mediocrity could prove even more costly.

It’s a dilemma that the next two games will resolve.

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