Man United: Poor, poor Erik ten Hag, fans push for sack at Coventry

“You’re getting sacked in the morning,” hollered the Coventry fans. Erik ten Hag probably won’t but he should.

Antony cupped his ears as Rasmus Hojlund celebrated the decisive penalty in the shootout. Almost every other United player in the centre circle was restrained. They were that embarrassed. Antony was embarrassing.

Even in victory, this was a defeat for Ten Hag. United’s spineless performance after the 70-minute mark and fortuitous progression should settle any lingering debate over the manager’s future. This was more damning evidence to file in the teeming dossier marked ‘Ten Hag out’.

United survived a Coventry comeback, a disallowed goal in the 121st minute and an unsuccessful penalty from Casemiro at the start of the spotkicks. Ten Hag will probably survive the season.

“Three-nil and you f****d it up” crowed the Coventry fans, who then started a chorus of “You’re getting sacked in the morning”. There is a case to be made for that.

Coventry manager Mark Robins kept one United manager in a job and he has possibly put one out of his, despite the end of the Championship side’s FA Cup run. They were millimetres away from one of the most famous results at Wembley when substitute Victor Torp pounced in added time of extra-time.

Booing greeted the full-time whistle from United supporters when their team was still in the FA Cup. They are in the final yet this is a hollow achievement. The stern expressions on the faces of Bruno Fernandes and Harry Maguire at the final shrill confirmed that. The United end emptied quicker than Coventry’s.

United, incapable of killing contests, went from 3-0 up to 3-3 in 21 madcap minutes. Conceding in quick succession and in added time are death knells for this squad. And the manager is a dead man walking.

Coventry struck twice in eight minutes and Andre Onana was reduced to time wasting and booked. An embarrassed Diogo Dalot urged him to quicken the play. Onana was fishing the ball out of his net again from Haji Wright’s 95th-minute penalty.

Onana collected a second yellow card during the shootout and the gamesmanship worked. Ben Sheaf skied his penalty and the blunt Hojlund sharpened up for the penalty.

No player embodied United’s feebleness more than Aaron Wan-Bissaka. He refused to face Callum O’Hare’s shot that looped in and his panicky position gifted Wright the equalising penalty. He was hapless again for Torp’s disallowed effort.

Ten Hag erred in hooking Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo, United’s best players this season, at 3-0 and then 3-1. Hojlund was a boy among men. Half the bench consisted of schoolboys.

The mood was so sombre among the United followers during the extra-time interval that Dalot turned impromptu cheerleader. The loudest was when the Video Assistant Referee confirmed they had been reprieved by a narrow offside.