Gary Neville believes Manchester United bought Erik ten Hag time with their 0-0 draw against Aston Villaspin city, but is not sure how much. (More Football News)
United are winless in their last five games in all competitions, with their stalemate at Villa Park the fourth draw in that run, having also lost 3-0 to Tottenham in their last home match.
Ten Hag's side have won just three of their opening 10 matches in all competitions, while their eight points in the league cements their worst-ever start to a Premier League season.
Only 19th-place Southampton (four) have netted fewer goals than United (five) in the competition so far, while only in 1972-73 (four) have the Red Devils ever netted fewer in their first seven matches of a top-flight campaign.
Against a Villa side who beat Bayern Munich in their last outing before this meeting, a draw could be seen as a good result, but Neville believes that shows the "low bar" the team is currently working with.
Erik Ten Hag's Future 'Not My Call', Says Man Utd Co-owner Jim Ratcliffe"It's a small step forward," Neville told Sky Sports. "Before the game, if you offered any Man Utd fan, player or coach a draw, then they would have snapped your hand off.
"That's where, at the end of the game, when you see Erik ten Hag's interview, there's an element of relief because it keeps the wolves at bay for a couple of weeks at least. It gives them a little bit more time.
"I don't think anybody who thought a major incident would happen after the game thought it would happen with a draw. They always thought it would need to be a difficult day or difficult defeat like it was last week against Tottenham. I think it buys Ten Hag a little bit of time.
"It's Manchester United's worst start in Premier League history so we can't celebrate. When we're thinking it's a decent point when you draw at Villa, it tells you how far Villa have come - but it also tells you how low the bar is for United in this moment in time."
Stalemate at Villa Park.#MUFC spin city