Erik ten Hag’s last throw of the dice! Man United’s manager insists they will be flying when injuries clear up in January… but it feels like he is running out of road

Erik ten Hag says he has been too busy until now to meet Manchester United’s new big investor Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his Ineos group. A little more of this and the Dutchman will have a lot of free time.

Ratcliffe’s sporting director Sir Dave Brailsford was in Carrington on Sunday to tour the training ground and have informal chats with Ten Haeg and other club staff.

Brailsford’s visit comes after he oversaw United’s 21st defeat of the year at the City Ground on Saturday night, their most since 1972. It’s safe to say that Ten Hag will have no regrets when he sees the end of 2023.

He had to deal with the off-field distractions surrounding Mason Greenwood, Jadon Sancho and Anthony, plus, of course, the convoluted view that gave Ratcliffe the power to hire and fire.

The ink is barely dry on his £1.3 billion investment and January already looks set to be Ten Hag’s final roll of the dice.

Erik ten Hag is under increasing pressure at Manchester United after defeat to Nottingham Forest

January is the month Ten Hag has been waiting for, with key players such as Casemiro (pictured) and Lisandro Martinez set to return. He needs to seriously change his team’s form.

United have just two games in January, three if they can beat Wigan and reach the fourth round of the FA Cup, and there is no guarantee of that right now.

This is the month Ten Hag has been waiting for, when he can finally welcome the return of the influential Lisandro Martinez and Casemiro, as well as Mason Mount, Harry Maguire and Tyrell Malasia.

Amad Diallo made his first appearance this season in United’s defeat to Nottingham Forest, but Rasmus Hoylund, Luke Shaw and Victor Lindelof missed the game.

The illness that has kept Anthony Martial out for three weeks remains a mystery, but we can only assume it will prove fatal to an Old Trafford career that has long since passed its sell-by date.

Reflecting on his latest failure, Ten Hag said: “This is below our standards, but we know the reasons. The players will return in January. We are looking forward to this, and then our squad and team will become stronger. They know that when I have a ready team, then the results will come.”

January is a chance to regroup and renew. It will also be a time for Ratcliffe’s Ineos group to assess every aspect of the club, including Ten Hag’s position, as his side are well off the pace to finish in the top four.

Even if they resist the temptation to make a hasty decision, they feel as if the former Ajax coach is missing the road.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe (left) will need to assess how to turn things around at the club, with transfer policy and Ten Haeg’s future at the top of his wish list.

United’s defeat to Nottingham Forest was their 21st in 2023 – their worst since 1972.

Ineos will now appreciate more than ever why Ten Hag said on the eve of this game that he couldn’t tear himself away from the training ground to talk to them.

Brailsford watched the game again at the City Ground, sitting next to Sir Alex Ferguson at the City Ground, two good knights who were having a very bad night. Four days after the 3-2 comeback win over Aston Villa, it became a harsh reality for Brailsford.

Oddly enough, victories cause no less concern.

Thoughts go back to United’s 3-2 win over Forest in August, when they had to go two goals behind, as they did against Villa on Boxing Day. Scott McTominay robbed Brentford with a double in stoppage time. Unconvincing 1-0 wins over Wolves, Fulham, Luton and Burnley. It could have been much worse.

They certainly deserved nothing against a rejuvenated Forest who had achieved two excellent results.

Nicholas Dominguez and Morgan Gibbs-White were unmarked when they scored, either side of Marcus Rashford’s equalizer.

“We have to step up, we know it, the team knows it,” Ten Hag said. “We expected something different.”

United’s victories are as worrying as defeats, being saved by heroics or unconvincing margins.

Nuno Espirito Santo put even more pressure on Ten Hag in just his third Forest game.

Forest, on the other hand, put in a strong performance to secure another big scalp for Nuno Espirito Santo after their away win at Newcastle.

It took club owner Evangelos Marinakis a long time to decide Steve Cooper’s time was up and turn to the former Wolves and Tottenham manager.

While Forest enjoy a successful managerial change, Ten Hag can only hope Ineos doesn’t come to the same conclusion.