The vultures are circling over Erik ten Hag as Man United maintain secret talks with potential replacements, writes CHRIS WHEELER… there was at all times a hazard {that a} poor begin to the season would land him in hassle once more

So here we go again. Manchester United sounding out other managers behind Erik ten Hag’s back as the Dutchman limps on like a wounded animal.

When Sir Jim Ratcliffe and co-owners Ineos spoke with potential replacements around the FA Cup final in May, they decided that Ten Hag was still the best man for the job and gave him a contract extension at a summit meeting in Ibiza. There is no guarantee they will come to the same conclusion again.

In football management, when clubs start lining up replacements once, you’re in trouble. Twice and it begins to feel terminal.

So while the news that United are stepping up their interest in Xavi Hernandez, Thomas Frank, Ruben Amorim and Edin Terzic doesn’t quite make Ten Hag a dead man walking, it really doesn’t bode well either. If last time is anything to go by, other conversations will be taking place.

Ten Hag’s response to the latest speculation over his future has been to dismiss it as outside noise. ‘Fairytales and lies,’ he called it. Depending on your point of view, he is showing unwavering belief in his employers or staggering naivety. These, after all, are the same people who betrayed him just six months ago. 

Ten Hag’s response to the latest speculation over his future has been to dismiss it as outside noise. ‘Fairytales and lies,’ he called it. Depending on your point of view, he is showing unwavering belief in his employers or staggering naivety. These, after all, are the same people who betrayed him just six months ago.

While chief executive Omar Berrada and sporting director Dan Ashworth can justifiably claim that they did not start work at United until July, it is inconceivable that they were not in the loop when Ratcliffe, Sir Dave Brailsford and technical director Jason Wilcox were undermining the manager by talking to potential replacements.

Then again, this is the same Ten Hag who reacted with incredulity when it was suggested that the final home game of last season against Newcastle could have been his Old Trafford farewell or the Cup Final his last stand. As it turned out, he survived by the skin of his teeth thanks to a rousing win over Manchester City at Wembley.

He has used his twin successes in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup as a suit of armour, even though it could be argued that two domestic cups represent a modest return on a £600million transfer investment.

Making a welcome appearance at the Northern Football Writers’ Association annual dinner last weekend, he once again called for patience. ‘I know you don’t win trophies in autumn or winter or even in spring. You win trophies in April and May,’ he said. ‘We are on a journey. At Manchester United, we really believe we are going in the right direction.’

Ten Hag was right that you don’t win trophies at this time of year – but you do lose your job. That’s why it is commonly referred to as sacking season, and a time of year when out-of-work managers tend not to book holidays.

A coach is particularly vulnerable if he works for a club as big as Manchester United and finds himself in the bottom half of both the Premier League and Europa League.

It would be nice to think that Ten Hag can perform another Houdini act. He certainly has a knack of producing results when it really matters.

He is a good man and he has not become a bad coach. Crucially, the majority of fans are still behind him, and a lot of people at United want him to stay and succeed.

But there was always a danger after his narrow escape in the summer that a poor start to the season would soon land him back in trouble, and that is exactly what has happened.

The jungle drums are beating again, and the vultures are circling overhead.