Jamie Carragher believes Man Utd boss Erik Ten Hag will suffer same fate as ex-Liverpool manager

Former Liverpool star Jamie Carragher believe Erik Ten Hag is entering a crucial part of his Man United tenure as Sir Jim Ratcliffe's influence at the club grows.

Ten Hag has overseen a difficult second season in charge after guiding the Red Devils to a Carabao Cup triumph as well as returning to the Champions League. Despite that strong first year, they fell short in Europe as they finished bottom of their group which consisted of Bayern Munich, Galatasaray and FC Copenhagen.

Back in early January of 2011, the current Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson was dismissed after a spell of losing nine games in 31 games, three months after Fenway Sports Group took charge of the club. He struggled to grasp the entirety of the role despite his vast experience and with Liverpool sat in 12th, he was sacked.

Carragher, speaking in his column in the Telegraph, drew comparisons to Ten Hag, who is on a worse run of 14 losses in 29 games despite the fact he is close to bettering Sir Alex Ferguson's win percentage. But the former Liverpool defender has pointed towards how changes in the ownership structure - with Sir Jim Ratcliffe's 25% stake seeing him take control of footballing operations when approved - may not be patient with the current manager, as FSG weren't with Hodgson. "Looking back to my own experience at a club undergoing a massive executive overhaul, Roy Hodgson’s brief reign at Liverpool is regarded as the worst since Bill Shankly was appointed in 1959. Hodgson lost nine in 31 games before he was sacked, not coincidentally three months after Fenway Sports Group bought the club and wanted a different profile of coach on the touchline.

"No one will convince me that Ratcliffe has bought into United thinking Ten Hag has already proven himself the right man for the job longer-term. He is far from untouchable. I can only reiterate what I believe about clubs of United’s, Arsenal’s and Liverpool’s stature: they are never as far away from getting back to the top as it seems. With their history, resources and clout, it only ever needs the right manager at the right time and two or three top-class players to change everything. They pull everyone upwards."

A 2-0 win over Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup helped to ease tensions, as did a 0-0 draw at Anfield in December, but a run consisting of Tottenham, West Ham, Aston Villa and Luton Town in the league certainly brings a new challenge. Another poor run here under the watchful eye of Sir Jim & Co could add unrelenting pressure and it could result in him losing his job, similar to Hodgson over 12 years ago.