Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag wore the haunted, hunted expression of someone reaching the end of the road after Tottenham Hotspur inflicted abject embarrassment at Old Trafford.
Since United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the club's restructured hierarchy eventually chose to keep faith with Ten Hag in the summer, he has been placed in a position where he is only one bad defeat away from a crisis and unforgiving scrutiny.
By that measure, Ten Hag is running out of time after a United performance that was as shambolic, incompetent and indisciplined as any he has presided over in his tenure.