Erik ten Hag led his players in applauding and thanking the remaining Manchester United fans inside Old Trafford after Sunday’s defeat to Tottenham.
So few supporters were left in the ground that he might have heard some of his claps echoing back from the empty stands. It will have been a sobering experience. But this is hardly the first time.
Ten Hag has bookended September with 3-0 home defeats to big six rivals, having succumbed to Liverpool and old Eredivisie foe Arne Slot at the start of the month. Only one of the two Dutchmen looks as though he has been in his role for two years - and it’s not Ten Hag.
READ MORE: Manchester United set to stick with Erik ten Hag this week
READ MORE: Erik ten Hag speaks out on Manchester United future
While at the start of the month it was Casemiro getting pelters for his performance, every single outfield United player from Sunday ought to be receiving the same critique. However, the buck has to stop with the manager.
None of his available summer signings have made a positive impression thus far. Matthijs De Ligt looks more unreliable than Harry Maguire, Joshua Zirkzee has not scored in seven matches and Noussair Mazraoui has hardly been an upgrade on Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Manuel Ugarte is finding it hard to adapt to Premier League football, as though his waning inclusion for Paris Saint-Germain towards the end of last season wasn’t already an ominous sign. That is £133million worth of recruits with little yet to show for that money.
Just because the board is new and a fresh start from the Glazers doesn’t mean it cannot come in for criticism. It may have finally backed Ten Hag following their end-of-season manager review but only after hanging him out to dry first.
A number of potential replacements were scouted out before the new regime belatedly handed Ten Hag a renewal to dress up their failure of finding a successor. In light of this, and on the back of the defeat to Brighton, new CEO Omar Berrada was quizzed about his confidence in Ten Hag.
"We're very happy with that decision [to give Ten Hag an extension]," Berrada insisted, inferring that an early sack decision at that stage was not on the agenda.
"Erik has our full backing and we have worked very closely together in this transfer window. We're going to continue working very closely with him to help him get the best results out of the team.”
Asked if he still had belief in Ten Hag, Berrada responded: “Absolutely. We think Erik is the right coach for us and we're fully backing him."
Berrada was speaking just hours before United were walloped 3-0 by Liverpool. Draws to 18th-place Crystal Palace and Europa League outfit FC Twente before the no-show against Tottenham have followed since.
Ten Hag is embarrassing Berrada, an industry-acclaimed figure from his successes at Manchester City. The wins over Fulham, Southampton and League One Barnsley - the only teams United have beaten in their opening eight games - do little to inspire hope.
Ten Hag is running out of excuses. A new board is in situ and has backed him in the transfer market. Squad disruptors and deadwood have been moved on. Meanwhile, United’s last Premier League win over a ‘big six’ rival came 10 months ago, a 2-1 win over Chelsea.
There is a possibility he does not get the chance to amend that streak ahead of this season’s repeat fixture with the Blues in early November. Further poor form will test Berrada and the board’s patience.
If pushed to the limit, Ten Hag might soon be emptying his office as quickly he did Old Trafford on Sunday.
