If there’s still a Manchester United fan out there who is looking forward to watching their team play at the moment then they are braver than most.
The majority of supporters no doubt can’t wait for this sorry season to end but there are four games to go before that and they aren’t getting much easier.
Less than a week on from being humiliated 4-0 by Crystal Palace, Manchester United take on arch-rivals Arsenal on Sunday.
If anything is going United’s way it’s that the Gunners tend to struggle at Old Trafford and the chance of derailing their chances of winning the title can serve as extra motivation.
Of course, it would in turn hand the trophy to neighbours Manchester City, who would become the first team to win the Premier League four times in a row.
Even in victory, Erik ten Hag’s side seems to lose at the moment but if they have any hope of defeating the country’s top team, then the manager can not make the same selection mistake as he did against Palace.
Erik ten Hag must make a defensive change against Arsenal
The manager probably felt like he had no choice due to every other defender in his squad being injured, but against Palace, he started Casemiro and Jonny Evans together at centre-back.
With a combined age of 68, it’s hardly surprising that the pair proved to be slow, cumbersome and ill-equipped to deal with an exciting and creative attack.
The skill of Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze combined with the rough and tumble Jean-Phillipe Mateta proved too much to handle for United’s makeshift centre-back pairing.
The duo had a hand in all four goals and couldn’t cope against a team down in 14th place.
To start them again against Arsenal, who have scored 39 goals more than the Eagles, would be suicide.
Harry Amas should start in defence instead
Ten Hag’s options have not improved since the defeat. In fact, Luke Shaw has actually suffered a setback in his recovery.
Evans, who wasn’t even fully fit to face Palace, remains the only centre-back available but he simply can’t be partnered with Casemiro again against the likes of Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard.
The manager has called on the club’s academy prospects to plug the gaps on his bench and, though most of them haven’t been trusted to play yet, he has nothing left to lose at this point.
Left-back Harry Amass has been earning rave reviews for his performances in the youth teams and he should be the one to come into the starting XI to allow Aaron Wan-Bissaka to move in at centre-back.
It’s far from ideal but having the pace and tackling prowess of Wan-Bissaka in the middle is the best United can muster at present.
It would obviously be a baptism of fire for Amass to make his debut at 17 in such a ramshackle side, against one of the best wingers in the country, but sometimes there isn’t a perfect moment and needs must.
There are other options for the left-back slot, Antony and Sofyan Amrabat have played there in the past, but Ten Hag obviously doesn’t fancy them in the position.
Amass is a risky, wildcard option but Ten Hag trying something new will at least be exciting and an admittance that things can’t go on as they are.