Manchester United vs Brentford: Thomas Frank set for Old Trafford audition after Thomas Tuchel move puts Dane in strong position to replace Erik ten Hag

Should Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos require references for any future successor to Erik ten Hag, Brentford boss Thomas Frank has a long list of peers he can call on.

Let’s start with Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, a man who considers himself a superfan of Frank.

‘It is just a question of time,’ Guardiola previously said when asked if Frank is destined for an archetypal ‘top’ job.

‘I’m good in a few things, one of which is reading when the manager is good. It is going to happen.’

If that isn’t enough, a call to former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp would elicit glowing praise.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe (right) was keen on Thomas Tuchel but he has since taken over England

‘The football they play is incredible and the organisation is incredible so Thomas and Brentford is doing an incredible job,’ Klopp previously said. ‘They show even with less money you can create something really special.’

And if those two managerial greats aren’t enough, here’s one more testimony in the form of Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.

‘With Thomas, with the coaching staff, with the club for me is one of the best run clubs in the league,’ Arteta said.

‘I followed it for many years and the things that they do, the structures that they have, the processes that they have, the vision they have. It’s incredible what they have done with the resources that they have.’

With Thomas Tuchel, widely seen as the No 1 succession target were Ineos to remove Ten Hag, now off the market after signing an 18-month deal to lead the England national team, Frank has emerged as a leading contender.

And if the football gods have not conspired enough it is Frank’s Brentford that are the visitors to Old Trafford this weekend. An audition. An opportunity, not that he needs it, to further underline his credentials to the powers that be at United.

Frank has been in charge at Brentford since succeeding Dean Smith, who left for Aston Villa, in 2018.

Frank is highly respected among his peers having transformed Brentford across six years

Pressure is mounting on Ten Hag after United’s worst ever start to a Premier League season

In the corresponding six years Frank has guided Brentford to the Premier League and has transformed them into a mainstay at this level, continually outperforming clubs that boast far more financial resource.

But the 51-year-old knows that chances to manage at the very highest level don’t come around all the time.

Chelsea held meetings with Frank before appointing Maresca and there were talks with United during Ineos’ not-so-secret flirtations with managers over the summer. Neither job ultimately came to pass.

‘I’ve said many times I’m very happy at Brentford,’ Frank told talkSPORT this week.

‘Who knows what will happen in the future. Maybe I stay here for many years. I’m open, maybe something happens. But first and foremost, very happy, just working very hard every day to make the club better.’

Pushed on exactly what he meant by leaving talk of his future so open-ended, he added: ‘That’s because it’s very difficult to predict the future.

‘Who knows what will happen. How many coaches have been at the same club more than six years? Very few.’

The facts are that Ten Hag has overseen United’s worst start to a Premier League season at this stage and while spared following a recent board meeting at Ineos’ London offices, is far from off the hook.

United are 14th through seven games, with Brentford 11th, two points better off than the Red Devils’ eight points.

Brentford are flying and head to Old Trafford two points better off than this weekend’s hosts

Ratcliffe has made a number of changes off-the-field at United, and the manager could be next

Losing to Brentford, with a tricky Europa League trip to face Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce, would put Ten Hag right back under the microscope he has only just wriggled out of.

Saturday is not make or break for Frank; Ineos and executives across the Premier League are well aware of his diligence, his quality and his acceptance to operate within a certain structure, in the case of Brentford one that is heavily data driven.

But the mark against his name is that as good as it has been for him at Brentford, Frank has no experience at a ‘top’, for want of a better phrase, club. A European powerhouse. A club whereby expectations far exceed anything he has had to stay on top of to this point.

‘The interesting thing is I maybe have one of the best football jobs in the world,’ Frank told Sky Sports before the season began.

‘I mean that, because the work environment is so good. It’s such a good owner, it’s such a good club.’

Dysfunction and muddled thinking are often words that better sum up a club the size of Manchester United that has seemingly veered off course.

Frank is respectful; he’s a smart man and will be acutely aware that he is firmly in the frame should United look to make a change.

‘We know Man United is a great club, great team, they have top players and we know if we’re not on it then they have the ability to in just a second produce a big moment or a great chance,’ he said this week.

Privately he and his players will know there is nothing to fear going to Old Trafford this weekend. In fact it is United that perhaps head in with a level of trepidation.

Frank’s Brentford side go into this weekend’s Old Trafford encounter in 11th spot

For now all Frank can do is handle his business and that starts at 3pm on Saturday.

But more so now than ever before, Frank is allowing himself a little look into what life may be like elsewhere.

‘We’ve all got an ego, it’s nice to feed the ego but it’s always the ego that gets in the way of good things in life,’ he said. ‘I think it’s about keeping your feet grounded and doing the hard work.’