Faith in Mainoo and putting swagger in Garnacho: United need Ten Hag

Three words: “principled”, “honest” and “driven”. These are the very obvious characteristics of Erik ten Hag. And these are exactly the qualities that a dysfunctional club such as Manchester United need.

Three more words: “brave”, “proactive” and “dynamic”. These are the adjectives Ten Hag uses to explain to his players how he wants them to perform, terms that chime with United’s history. They played that way in the second half at Everton in a game billed as an ambush. Ten Hag’s side eventually won 3-0.

Yet the man in line to receive the Premier League Manager of the Month award for November is third in line to get the sack, according to the bookies. Even when he does well, Ten Hag lives with unstinting pressure