Erik ten Hag told he has 'one life left' against Aston Villa to save Manchester United career

Aston Villa face Manchester United in the Premier League next, with Red Devils manager Erik ten Hag under extreme scrutiny following a string of poor performances

Jermaine Pennant says with Aston Villa his next fixture, Erik ten Hag has 'one life left' to revive his Manchester United career following another uninspiring performance.

Last Sunday, for the second time this season Villa's next opponents had a 3-0 defeat inflicted upon them at Old Trafford - first to do it were Liverpool then most recently Tottenham Hotspur. Sitting 13th in the Premier League table, it called into question Ten Hag's tenure and whether he is actually the man to bring back success at the club.

Still, reports suggested it was business as usual and he would be keeping his job with Villa the final match before the next international break. But the precarious situation took another turn on Thursday night and the pressure mounted even higher, as his side let slip a two-goal lead, plus captain Bruno Fernandes was sent off again, as United drew 3-3 with Porto in the Europa League.

"Two goals up to go two all? That is just not Man United. That was really poor," Pennant said in review on talkSPORT. "Then they're having to bring on Harry Maguire to save the day in the 90th minute?

"Ten Hag - I'm gonna call him 'One Hag', because he's got one life left. It's not Ten Hag anymore, it's 'One Hag'. 'One Hag' with one life left."

Co-host and ex-Spurs midfielder Jamie O'Hara agreed, saying: "If he gets beat at Aston Villa, I'm sorry, with an international break coming up, pull the trigger."

Pennant added: "It'd be cheerio. If it's a bad result, it'd be cheerio. I think they're papering over the cracks at the moment with that performance and performances that we've seen previously. It's just not good enough.

"I've said this before, he's not the guy to take you forward. It's his third season now and we've seen the teams around them, Chelsea after their second season are much better, Spurs in the second season how much better they are. Man United with this third season, it's like they're going backwards. They're going backwards."

"I can't see performances getting better under this regime with Ten Hag."

To round off the discussion, O'Hara asked the former Liverpool winger whether he would sack the Man United manager.

"Absolutely," he said without hesitation. "Tic Tac. Chop. Boom. Bye. Here's your bag, thank you for your services, but get back to Rotterdam or Feyenoord or wherever he's from."

After those recent matches, betting odds have been slashed on Ten Hag to become the first managerial casualty of the 2024/25 season. Via Betfair, he was rated 17/20 but that has now shortened to just 1/2. Southampton's Russell Martin (7/2) and Wolves' Gary O'Neil (7/1), trail closest.

Do you agree with Pennant? Let us know your thoughts HERE

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