Erik ten Hag is bracing himself for his most difficult phase as Manchester United manager, and the Dutchman will have to fight hard in the coming weeks to avoid following in the footsteps of Jose Mourinho.

Carrington has adopted a siege mentality, with journalists barred from attending a news conference after the club objected to coverage. Mirror Football was one of four outlets chastised after reporting exclusively on Monday that Ten Hag is facing a dressing room mutiny.

There is little Christmas cheer surrounding United as they prepare for a key run of games that will determine Ten Hag’s tenure as manager. He’s been told he has three games to keep his job, and his future is rendered even more precarious by Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s impending takeover.

United host Chelsea at Old Trafford on Wednesday night before hosting Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday. Ten Hag then faces a must-win Champions League encounter against already-qualified Bayern Munich, followed by an Anfield rivalry against Liverpool. It’s a grueling schedule that, if all goes wrong, might mean the end of his stay at the club.

Ten Hag is facing similar challenges as Mourinho, despite their extremely different personalities and techniques as managers. The Portuguese manager was fired on December 18, 2018, after a 3-1 loss to Liverpool in the Premier League at Anfield. After 17 games, Mourinho’s team was sixth in the league, a long way behind the pace set by their opponents.

Ten Hag will play Liverpool in his 17th league game of the season on December 17. He will face a squad that is challenging at the top of the table, while his team is extremely likely to be outside the top four.

Erik ten Hag needs results to keep his job as manager of Manchester United.

Mourinho was fired for failing to make progress despite substantial investment in players. The seasoned manager has also witnessed the changing room atmosphere deteriorate. His glum tactical approach and conservative demeanor had worn thin, and United bit the bullet, paying £18 million to end the saga.

Ten Hag emphasized to club-selected journalists ahead of the Chelsea game that he is not in the same situation as Mourinho, dismissing the notion of a disgruntled dressing room. “I always listen to my players and I always give them opportunities to tell, if the players have a different opinion of course I will listen,” he told reporters. “But they haven’t told me – or maybe one or two of them have.”

“But, in general, the majority wants to play like this – proactive, dynamic, and brave, that’s what they want.” The performances against Everton [3-0] and Galatasaray [3-3] show that the players are committed.

“Do you believe we can score as many goals as we did against Everton if the players don’t embrace it?” I’m confident [the players] are on my side. For example, see the comeback against Brentford [2-1], the Burnley game [1-0], and the Fulham game [1-0]. You can see that you couldn’t play as well as we have recently if there isn’t unity.”

When asked about widespread disarray at United, he responded, “Not in the dressing room.” Of course, there are many rumors concerning the strategic review [carrying out internally], but we are not distracted by them. We are on a journey, a path; we know we are still in transition, but we are on the right track; you can see how we build a team, develop it, how the team is progressing, how young players [are] coming in, and you can see the potential for them to contribute to a very successful Manchester United in the future.”