Erik ten Hag came out fighting this week... but it's time Man United did their talking on the pitch. Anything other than victory against basement boys Sheffield United will have his job hanging by a thread

Erik ten Hag strode into the Jimmy Murphy Centre at Carrington yesterday ready to hit back.

The assembled media didn't know it yet; Ten Hag is typically calm and measured in his responses. On Tuesday, irked by what he saw as an overreaction to their penalty shootout win over Coventry City, he wanted to come out swinging.

Asked with the opening question if he understood the reaction, the criticism, that came with coughing up a 3-0 lead to scrape by second tier Coventry City on penalties at Wembley, the United boss said: 'Absolutely not.

'You made (asked) the question, "is it embarrassing?" No, the reaction from you was embarrassing. The comments are a disgrace.

'Top football is about results. We made it to a final and we deserved it, not only by this game but also the other games. We lost control for 20 minutes, we also had bad luck for 3-2 and 3-3. We were very lucky in the end, clear.

'We were not happy with it. I can see the fans are not happy with it as well, but they get fed by opinions. But all over, what I heard is that the fans are very happy we are again in the FA Cup final.

'Even for Manchester United, it is not business as usual. They were not so often in the FA Cup final.

'The penalties were very good and we made it to the final. It is a huge achievement. Twice in two years is magnificent. For me as a manager, five cup finals in four years.'

Finally, Ten Hag snapped. All the pressure which has been escalating since this season began finally told.

Now, with the End Game seemingly in sight, Ten Hag is refusing to go quietly.

Pressure won't suddenly cease either. It's basement boys Sheffield United at home this evening, on paper a game United should - much as they should have done against Coventry - win comfortably.

Only back in 2021, again bottom of the Premier League, Sheffield United pitched up to Old Trafford and won. It's hardly ancient history.

There is no doubt injuries have hurt Ten Hag this season - more than 60 separate cases.

Mason Mount has missed most of the campaign after arriving as Ten Hag's No 1 midfield target for this season; Lisandro Martinez, a warrior off the pitch and key ally in the dressing-room, has been limited to 11 appearances; Luke Shaw has spent extended spells out; Tyrell Malacia hasn't featured all season; Rasmus Hojlund went down just as he was in a purple patch; even young defender Willy Kambwala was forced to miss the FA Cup semi-final after breaking into the team.

So, in that sense, there is mitigation. But on the flip side Ten Hag has been given £400m and two years to improve United, and they look further away than ever. They look like a side that, even when they have a seemingly unassailable lead, you cannot trust them.

This was, by United's standards, supposed to be a routine week: a Championship side in an FA Cup semi-final and then two soon-to-be Championship teams in Sheffield United and Burnley, both of which head to Old Trafford this week.

And yet on the first leg of that trio Ten Hag and his players near tripped themselves up, leading to the growing sense that his days in charge at Man United are numbered.

'I think the future of the Manchester United manager is already determined. Even if they win the FA Cup, I think he's gone,' Alan Shearer said on Monday.

'When you look at the players, when you look at the attitude, where they are in the league and all those things.

'You know how it works: new owner, new director of football, new director of strategy, new this, new that, new whatever. It just tells you: new manager incoming.'

Ineos and United's new football operations team are not so reactionary as to make emotional decisions based on one game. Should United hammer Sheffield United on Wednesday, it is unlikely to move the needle too much.

Sir Dave Brailsford has been doing his audit of United for the last three months, while new technical director Jason Wilcox met with Ten Hag after officially starting work earlier this week, leading to suggestions that Wilcox is seeking a possession-based style of play from the first team in the final few weeks.

Sources at United continue to stress that planning for next season, and this summer's pre-season tour, is being done with Ten Hag in tow.

With seven games to go all Ten Hag can do now is win. Anything less, and that particularly applies to Sheffield United this evening, and he looks set to walk the same plank as fellow Dutchman Louis van Gaal did in 2016.