Erik ten Hag's Man Utd record in away games vs Premier League Top 9 stuns Roy Keane | OneFootball

Erik ten Hag has come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks with Manchester United struggling to really get their season going. The Red Devils find themselves bottom of their Champions League group and requiring a win over Bayern Munich on matchday six in order to be in with a chance of qualification to the knockout rounds. A 1-0 away defeat against Newcastle United on December 2 also left United five points behind in the top four race.

With Ten Hag's men languishing in seventh place in the Premier League table, the loss at St James' Park has shone a light on a wider problem for United. The club have become notorious for struggling in away matches against teams around them in the league. While Anthony Gordon scored the only goal of the game - suggesting a close encounter - the Magpies dominated the game throughout with Eddie Howe's men enjoying the lion's share of possession and having 22 shots on Andre Onana's goal in comparison to United's eight.

It was ultimately a Kieran Trippier cross that was rifled home at the back post by Gordon to extend an unwanted run that Ten Hag has accumulated over his tenure in England to date.

Erik ten Hag's away record v PL Top 9

During Sky Sports' 'Super Sunday' coverage of Manchester City's clash with Tottenham, a graphic was shown that revealed an extremely dismal record for Man United in away Premier League games against the other 'Top Nine' clubs. This is based on the teams that finished in the top nine positions in the league during the 2022/23 campaign.

The game against Newcastle marked Ten Hag's 11th trip to another 'Top Nine' side, and the Dutch boss is still on the hunt for his first victory in such a game. Having lost 10 of these games on the road, the only time United haven't been beaten was in a clash against a struggling Tottenham side towards the end of the 2022/23 season. The Red Devils found themselves 2-0 up in that game before being pegged back.

Among the 10 losses in question, standout results include a 7-0 thrashing at Anfield - perhaps the club's most embarrassing defeat in history - and a 6-3 drubbing at the Etihad. Such huge defeats against Liverpool and Man City respectively left a bitter taste in the mouth for many fans of the club in Ten Hag's first year in charge, despite achieving a top four finish and an EFL Cup triumph. Two losses against Arsenal and Newcastle also feature on the list, making for even more grim reading for United supporters.

Roy Keane reacts to United's away day woes

On the Sky Sports panel was Roy Keane and the former Man United captain was asked for his thoughts on the extremely poor record. The Irishman - in typical fashion - didn't hold back as he said: "That doesn't look real. Is that real? It looks ugly."

Yes Roy, it is indeed real. United teams that featured Keane would have never stood for such an abysmal record, but the current struggles under Ten hag are evident.

The former midfielder didn't stop there either as he went on to point out: "The amount of goals, we were talking about it earlier. Six at City, seven at Liverpool, four at Brentford - it's not good.

"They're obviously in a tough place, the manager's under pressure. There were players that played last night [vs Newcastle] for United and you thought they'd be leaving the club in the summer but you're still going back to the same players who have been getting United nowhere fast for the last one or two years," he continued.

A damning assessment from the 52-year-old, who signed off by claiming: "This group's not going to change and if they're not going to work as hard as the opposition, then you're in trouble."