Premier League

ERIK TEN HAG still has the backing of Manchester United — but his potential sacking is being discussed openly by the players.The under-fire Red Devils manager faces a massive four days to save his job, with Thursday’s difficult Europa League clash away to Porto followed by a trip to Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday.Erik ten Hag has two games to save his Man Utd jobCredit: GettyTen Hag’s future is a big talking point amongst his playersCredit: EPATen Hag, whose team slumped to a 3-0 loss to Spurs on Sunday, has the support of the club’s board but patience is running out.Two more poor defeats and the Dutchman will find himself facing  the axe.The vast majority of United’s stars are also behind the beleaguered manager.But there has been much talk among the squad over how much longer he will remain in charge with the club floundering in the Prem. READ MORE IN FOOTBALLUnited have registered just seven points so far, their joint-lowest after six games of a Premier League season.But Ten Hag, who  signed a  one-year  extension until 2026 in July, claims he is unconcerned about his future. He said: “No, I am not thinking about this.“We all decided to stay together in the summer.”Most read in FootballFOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALSIf United axe Ten Hag, assistant boss Ruud van Nistelrooy is likely to take temporary charge.Former United star Rio Ferdinand is worried for the club’s future.Manchester United vs Tottenham Player RatingsRuud van Nistelrooy is the early frontrunner to take chargeCredit: GettyHe said: “It doesn’t look like the United players know what the plan is because I don’t see it on the pitch.“Six hundred million spent by Ten Hag and it’s the most inconsistent team around. That hurts me to say that.”Why NOBODY is the right man to replace Erik ten Hag at Man UtdSunSport’s DAVE KIDD says Erik ten Hag’s time at Man Utd is up… and explains what’s wrong with all the potential candidates to replace him.THIS is a mid-table squad at an underachieving club, with a lot of unwanted players on big money.And Ratcliffe is an instinctive cost-cutter who may not pay top dollar to the next manager.If this club wasn’t called ‘Manchester United’, it wouldn’t be an especially desirable job.The good news for United is that their new sporting director, Dan Ashworth, is a very decent judge of a manager.He has been instrumental in three previous managerial appointments — Gareth Southgate for England, Graham Potter for Brighton and Eddie Howe for Newcastle.None were wildly popular at the time, all were conspicuous successes.Interestingly, Ashworth’s No 1 choice for the Newcastle job was Unai Emery, who turned him down to stay at Villarreal but has since proved that judgment right by excelling at Aston Villa.Emery may well deliver the coup de grace to Ten Hag on Sunday — especially with Bruno Fernandes suspended and Kobbie Mainoo an injury doubt.And the Spaniard would be an excellent fit for United — yet there is next to no chance that he would abandon Villa’s Champions League campaign to take the Old Trafford job, not least because he isn’t a stark raving madman.Howe would be another good candidate to succeed Ten Hag but, although he has become frustrated on Tyneside, the Saudis would surely not allow Ratcliffe to poach Howe, as they reluctantly did with Ashworth.Potter is available but his Chelsea experience and lack of charisma would make him a tough sell.Which brings us to Southgate, who remains close with Ashworth and is an excellent man-manager who was seriously considered by United last spring.Yet, despite having led England to two of their three major finals, Southgate’s reputation for over-caution was only enhanced during the Euros.Mauricio Pochettino, passed over twice by United, is out of the equation having taken the United States job.Thomas Tuchel would be a popular and gettable option but, despite being a fine coach and a very engaging man, he is considered something of a loose cannon.Likewise, Roberto De Zerbi, now at Marseille after his brief Brighton stint sparkled then fizzled out.Kieran McKenna — a gifted former United coach who has won back-to-back promotions with Ipswich Town — is an intriguing candidate but the imminent vacancy may come a year or so too soon.Marco Silva, the extremely under-rated Fulham boss, has been on United’s radar and should not be discounted.Sporting Lisbon’s Ruben Amorim, last season’s ‘next big thing’, was passed over by West Ham as well as Liverpool this summer and is not an easy man to pin down.Zinedine Zidane, who has taken over from Alan Curbishley as a 20-1 shot for every Premier League job, is a ‘figurehead’ manager and not an Ashworth type.Ruud van Nistelrooy, the former United goal machine who joined Ten Hag’s coaching team in the summer is the bookies’ favourite. Simply because he’s in the building and he’s Dutch.So, yes, getting rid of Ten Hag is the easy part. More

ROOMING with Ronaldinho is not something you forget in a hurry.In January 2001, an 18-year-old Mikel Arteta arrived at Paris Saint-Germain alone and “terrified” after being shipped out on an 18-month loan from Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy.Mikel Arteta has lifted the lid on sharing a room at PSG with RonaldinhoCredit: Offside/PRESSE SPORTSThe Arsenal boss is looking to get the better of his old side in the Champions LeagueCredit: GettyIn his first taste of men’s senior football, he was guided on the pitch by friend and mentor Mauricio Pochettino, a man who first inspired Arteta to go into management.And by the summer of 2001, the now-Arsenal boss had a new roommate — a 21-year-old Brazilian signing called Ronaldinho, someone who opened Arteta’s eyes to the beautiful game.More than two decades on, Arteta faces the Parisian giants for the first time as a manager on Tuesday, and cannot help but smile as he recalls what it was like sharing a room with a footballing legend known for his tricks and flair on the pitch . . . and mad partying lifestyle off it.Asked what sort of roomie  Ronaldinho was, Arteta grinned: “With me, he was always perfect.READ MORE IN FOOTBALL“We were room-mates for a year. He was great. So much energy, so much fun, everything was good. Never a problem. Great times.“I did not see him as a superstar at the time, obviously. But he was a huge talent.“He was coming from Brazil. He didn’t have the work permit so he had to wait for a couple of months.”A young Arteta was desperate to stay in Paris beyond his loan spell, only to be recalled by Barcelona and sold to Scottish giants Rangers in 2002 before arriving in England — via Real Sociedad — with Everton  two-and-a-half years later.Most read in FootballFOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALSRonaldinho’s stay at the Parc des Princes was also short but sweet, leaving for Barca in 2003 where he won the Ballon d’Or, two LaLiga titles and the Champions League across five years.Arteta continued: “He’s the only player I have seen in history that could transform, by himself, two clubs. He did it in Paris, he transformed them. He went to Barcelona in one of the worst moments and transformed them.Former Arsenal star Fabian Caballero passes away aged 46Ronaldinho went on to become a Barcelona and Brazil iconCredit: GettyArteta also played with Bolton legend Jay-Jay Okocha at PSGCredit: Getty“He had an aura, an energy, a smile on his face . . . it was impossible to be next to him and be in a bad mood.“And in training, I never saw a  talent like this. In every drill, it was like: ‘How is this possible?’.“It was unbelievable to play with him. I had to do all the defending because I had Ronaldinho and Jay-Jay Okocha in front of me. Imagine!“It was super, almost unreal. It was a dream for me.“I was so blessed and I had so much energy at that time. I couldn’t waste that opportunity — I enjoyed every minute of it.”Arteta also has a strong friendship with current PSG boss — former Barca player and Treble-winning manager Luis Enrique, 54 — who he shares much in common with. But Arteta, now 42, admits he owes a lot to his days in Paris for making him the man and manager he is today after being “protected like a son” in the “perfect environment”.A month after joining as an unknown teenager, he made his Champions League debut  at the San Siro against AC Milan in a 1-1 draw.Arteta said: “I was in the tunnel, I was looking . . . it was [ex-Milan owner Silvio] Berlusconi, [Paolo]  Maldini, [Andriy] Shevchenko.“I was looking, they were all like this [holds his hand up high]. I was like: ‘Really?’ I was thrown to the lions in Rome.“But it turned out to be a really good match, which I really enjoyed. It was an unbelievable night.”Arteta is hoping for another of those nights at the Emirates, having drawn their first Champions League outing 0-0  at Atalanta last month.Last season, Arsenal were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Bayern Munich after a 1-0 second-leg defeat at the Allianz Arena on April 17.Three days earlier, their title dreams had been damaged by a 2-0 home loss to Aston Villa.READ MORE SUN STORIESAhead of another gruelling title race and European run, Arteta said: “Last year we almost went all the way. We came up short, so that is something we have to do better, to prove. That’s the next step we have to make as a team.”Gunners defenders Ben White (groin) and Riccardo Calafiori (knee) face late fitness tests. More