Sir Jim Ratcliffe arrives at Villa Park ahead of must-win game for Ten Hag and crunch meeting with Man Utd co-owners

THIS is simply a mid-table squad astatine an underachieving club, with a batch of unwanted players connected large money.

And Ratcliffe is an instinctive cost-cutter who whitethorn not wage apical dollar to the adjacent manager.

If this nine wasn’t called ‘Manchester United’, it wouldn’t beryllium an particularly desirable job.

The bully quality for United is that their caller sporting director, Dan Ashworth, is simply a precise decent justice of a manager.

He has been instrumental successful 3 erstwhile managerial appointments — Gareth Southgate for England, Graham Potter for Brighton and Eddie Howe for Newcastle.

None were wildly fashionable astatine the time, each were conspicuous successes.

Interestingly, Ashworth’s No 1 prime for the Newcastle occupation was Unai Emery, who turned him down to enactment astatine Villarreal but has since proved that judgement close by excelling astatine Aston Villa.

Emery whitethorn good present the coup de grace to Ten Hag connected Sunday — particularly with Bruno Fernandes suspended and Kobbie Mainoo an wounded doubt.

And the Spaniard would beryllium an fantabulous acceptable for United — yet determination is adjacent to nary accidental that helium would wantonness Villa’s Champions League run to instrumentality the Old Trafford job, not slightest due to the fact that helium isn’t a stark raving madman.

Howe would beryllium different bully campaigner to win Ten Hag but, though helium has go frustrated connected Tyneside, the Saudis would surely not let Ratcliffe to poach Howe, arsenic they reluctantly did with Ashworth.

Potter is disposable but his Chelsea acquisition and deficiency of charisma would marque him a pugnacious sell.

Which brings america to Southgate, who remains adjacent with Ashworth and is an fantabulous man-manager who was earnestly considered by United past spring.

Yet, contempt having led England to 2 of their 3 large finals, Southgate’s estimation for over-caution was lone enhanced during the Euros.

Mauricio Pochettino, passed implicit doubly by United, is retired of the equation having taken the United States job.

Thomas Tuchel would beryllium a fashionable and gettable enactment but, contempt being a good manager and a precise engaging man, helium is considered thing of a escaped cannon.

Likewise, Roberto De Zerbi, present astatine Marseille aft his little Brighton stint sparkled past fizzled out.

Kieran McKenna — a talented erstwhile United manager who has won back-to-back promotions with Ipswich Town — is an intriguing campaigner but the imminent vacancy whitethorn travel a twelvemonth oregon truthful excessively soon.

Marco Silva, the highly under-rated Fulham boss, has been connected United’s radar and should not beryllium discounted.

Sporting Lisbon’s Ruben Amorim, past season’s ‘next large thing’, was passed implicit by West Ham arsenic good arsenic Liverpool this summertime and is not an casual antheral to pin down.

Zinedine Zidane, who has taken implicit from Alan Curbishley arsenic a 20-1 changeable for each Premier League job, is simply a ‘figurehead’ manager and not an Ashworth type.

Ruud van Nistelrooy, the erstwhile United extremity instrumentality who joined Ten Hag’s coaching squad successful the summertime is the bookies’ favourite. Simply due to the fact that he’s successful the gathering and he’s Dutch.

So, yes, getting escaped of Ten Hag is the casual part.