Cristiano Ronaldo's exile from Manchester United's squad is the easy part for manager Erik ten Hag

Keeping Ronaldo away from the squad is easy when United are playing well, but what happens if they falter?

There is still the not insignificant matter of a trip to Stamford Bridge to come, but right now Erik ten Hag might be entitled to view this as his best week in the Manchester United job so far. It was not just the swashbuckling 2-0 win over Tottenham, plenty enough to get supporters buying into what their new head coach wants to achieve at Old Trafford. Though the entire Cristiano Ronaldo affair might be enough to try the patience of a saint, this week's rupture point gave Ten Hag a chance to stamp his authority on the club. He seized it with both hands. The only question now is whether he can make this decisive moment stick. 

It is easy to cast Ronaldo out from the first team when the goals are flowing, quite another thing to have the courage of one's convictions if Chelsea, West Ham or Aston Villa prove hard to score against. For now, however, Ten Hag is winning the power struggle. Club sources are insistent that they will back their manager to the hilt on this stance. There appears to be little sense of a base within the club that are backing Ronaldo. That is no wonder after the events of this week and the months prior to Wednesday's fissure point.

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