Manchester United go into the international break on a high after defeating Liverpool 4-3 in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Sunday.
The Red Devils went toe-to-toe with their rivals and came out on top in a thrilling 120-minute affair highlighted by Amad Diallo's stoppage-time winner just moment before penalty kicks would've been required to decide the match.
Sunday's win was a high point in an otherwise frustrating season for United, who have shown glimpses of quality but have struggled with consistency and sit outside the top four of the Premier League as a result. They also crashed out of the Champions League in the group stage, where they finished dead last in Group A after winning only a single match, and all their hopes for a trophy now lie in their FA Cup run.
It's a tricky situation for manager Erik ten Hag, who led United to a third place finish in the league last season and now faces the prospect of missing out on the Champions League altogether unless he can spur his side to a dominant finish to the campaign.
With time running out on the season, even a famous cup victory over Liverpool may not be enough to salvage Ten Hag's position, says a former United player.
“I’ve always believed that Erik ten Hag can be a brilliant manager for Manchester United, but that doesn’t mean that anybody’s position is secure," Louis Saha told Betfred.
"The players are not secure and the manager is not secure because everybody should be on their toes as they have to perform. That’s the nature of the game for any manager and player.
"The Liverpool victory is obviously very helpful when it comes to building confidence and the players showed that they believe in Erik ten Hag’s work, which is great to see."
For Saha, the solution is simple. If Ten Hag is to guarantee his job, he'll need to get his players to perform more often like they did on Sunday.“The club needs to find stability and I’ve seen players playing with their hearts," he said. "I was really happy for Antony and Amad Diallo with their contributions and it’s now the manager’s job to make sure that the players reproduce those levels of performance on a regular basis.”
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