Updated 5 Best Candidates to Replace Erik Ten Hag as Manchester United Manager

Once the pressure builds on a manager, it's tough for it to subside.

Quite often, this process takes a few weeks. A string of poor results will see a club publicly backing their coach. This is usually a sign of impending doom, and if no improvement is made, a swift statement of the manager's departure usually follows.

This process is being drawn out across months at Manchester United, where Erik ten Hag struggles. Sunday's 3-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford could be considered a new low when, really, it's just the latest low.

United had the perfect opportunity to get rid of Ten Hag in the summer. However, the FA Cup triumph over Manchester City clouded the board's eyes, making them forget just how terrible the Red Devils were throughout their awful run to eighth in the Premier League last season.

They now sit 12th in the table, with more losses than wins and a goal difference of minus-three after six games. Trips to FC Porto and Aston Villa are likely to make things worse in the coming days.

With that in mind, here are five potential replacements for Ten Hag who could thrive under the right conditions.

*Note, this is intended to be the 'best' available candidates for the role, not the 'most likely'. You won't see Gareth Southgate or Thomas Tuchel here.

A certified legend at Brentford after taking them to the Premier League for the first time, Thomas Frank has been linked with many top jobs across the years. With good reason, too.

Although Brentford stumbled through last season–not helped by the trouble surrounding Ivan Toney and his betting ban–the majority of Frank's reign has been defined by the type of attacking football that is so often missing at Manchester United.

Even if the Bees aren't particularly good at keeping clean sheets, you can bet they will ask questions of the opposition's backline, a statement backed up by their scoring inside 40 seconds against Manchester City, Spurs and West Ham United this season.

Toney is long gone and his replacement, Igor Thiago, is dealing with a long-term injury before making it onto the pitch, but that hasn't stopped Frank from finding ways of unleashing his forwards. Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa were dovetailing brilliantly before the latter's injury, as Brentford move the ball quickly and incisively on the break.

It would be hard to imagine Frank clamming up and losing that spark at United.

Fans have watched David Moyes and his game of a billion crosses and they've witnessed Jose Mourinho try to utilize Scott McTominay as a centre-back. They just want to see something fast-paced and full of fun. Frank's that man.

Ruben Amorim might be the most exciting candidate on this list.

At 39 years old, he's extremely young, but he's experienced and a winner. His Sporting CP side are playing some incredible football right now and rank among Europe's most in-form teams. How they are winning games should catch the United hierarchy's attention if Ten Hag is binned off.

Amorim has built Sporting around defensive solidarity, but that doesn't mean he's done so at the expense of attacking impetus.

His players move into positions to overload the opposition, beating the press and maintaining control through the middle. Games against Sporting can feel congested in the centre, and that's because Amorim's wingers slide inside to create patterns of short passing that lower the chance of giving away possession.

His big stars, namely Viktor Gyökeres and Pedro Gonçalves, are still allowed to express themselves within this structure.

Sporting have scored 25 and conceded just twice in six league games this season, winning all seven of their league matches. They also beat Lille 2-0 in the UEFA Champions League.

Amorim will get picked up by a bigger club at some point in the next couple of years due to the fact that he already has so much to give and a lot more to learn.

United fans would love his style that limits passivity and makes the opposition suffer.

Ipswich Town's best signing of the summer was undoubtedly Kieran McKenna's ink on his new contract. He was constantly linked with United and Chelsea after leading the Tractor Boys into the top flight with 96 points and just six defeats in last season's Championship.

McKenna previously worked under Ralf Rangnick at United, so he would have the advantage of being familiar with his surroundings. But that isn't enough to be considered for the job; United need an adaptable manager who understands that finding balance within the side can lead to success.

Luckily, McKenna is already showing signs of doing this at Premier League level. The fixture Gods were against Ipswich at the start of the campaign; nobody deserves to face Liverpool and Manchester City in their first two games. Valiant efforts ended in two defeats, but the results since show Ipswich might actually have a chance of staying up.

Hard-fought draws with Fulham, Brighton & Hove Albion, Southampton and Aston Villa are building blocks.

You get the sense if McKenna leaves, Ipswich will drop to the Championship. He is a calm, intelligent coach whose tweaks have tightened things up without losing a threat, something United certainly need.

As unlikely as it seems that Zinedine Zidane would end his hiatus from football for United, his aura could challenge the club in a way it needs.

Zizou is a strong personality–he literally headbutted Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup final–and has the presence of taking zero prisoners. Him just being at Old Trafford might be powerful enough to give players a ruthless edge that has long been missing.

Of course, Zidane is a talented manager as well.

He won it all with Real Madrid, including a ridiculous Champions League three-peat. He did so playing speedy, attacking football, while picking a consistent team that was well-drilled and expressive. It helped to have Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and that caliber of star, but managing those kinds of expectant characters is not an easy task.

Zidane is a man who understands how to navigate, challenge and get through all the club politics that can make working at such a high level so debilitating for others. United could use someone who isn't willing to take any nonsense.

The dismal spell at Chelsea has led Graham Potter into what can only be described as his "David Moyes moment."

United fans know what this means; when a well-respected manager comes to a big club, it goes completely wrong, and all the great sentiment around him is shattered so badly he's then suddenly regarded as a poor coach.

The judgment is harsher than it needs to be, as Moyes has largely proved since his time with United. Potter should be worth the same consideration. He's a good coach who needs the chance to prove himself, which could be the perfect energy for a project like United.

Potter commonly deploys three at the back and trusts his wingers to both drop back and find spaces centrally to provide a passing option, which would be a complete change of style after Ten Hag. United invested in younger players during the summer, with freshness and the ability to learn now at the forefront of what they're doing. Potter could harness that.

He's certainly ready to make his mark, having told Matt Law of the Telegraph it's time he gets over the "humiliation" of his Chelsea stint. He's in a similar position to United, a fallen prospect who needs time and trust to gain plaudits once more.