Manchester United fans are no closer to knowing the fate of their club and the manager after a 0-0 draw at Aston Villa leaves the majority with mixed feelings.

On one hand, it condemns Manchester United to their worst-ever start to a Premier League campaign since...last year with Erik ten Hag.

On the other hand, the games at Porto and Villa have shown the players are firmly behind the Man United manager and fighting tooth and nail to get results for him.

That is the balancing act facing Ineos now as they enter two weeks of feverish speculation with the international break on the horizon.

In the meantime, Marcus Rashford has become a topic of its own after he was subbed off again vs Villa at the hour mark.

The decision was justified by him as "rotation" but he also insinuated that he wasn't happy with the player's defensive contribution afterward.

Having said that, he started again at Villa and was playing well too, testing Emiliano Martinez with a sighter in what could have been a repeat of his goal vs Porto.

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In a game of few chances, that stuck out as one of the more threatening moments in the first half.

In the second half, however, Ten Hag took the player off and Rashford wasn't shy about letting the manager know what he thought about his decision.

He looked unhappy and frustrated and the manager revealed the reasons behind taking him off after the game.

He said (via MUTV): "Yes, that [the potential for a second yellow card] was one of the reasons to take him off. If it was another foul, probably he would be sent off. We can't take another risk."

Rashford's frustration While the decision midweek regarding Rashford was borderline indefensible, regardless of the justification provided by the Dutchman, this makes more sense.

Rashford had gotten booked and just moments before his substitution, had stuck out a lazy leg to impede another player.

That could well have seen him get awarded his second yellow card and the frustration of not being able to influence the game in attack was seeping through.

He was on thin ice with the referee and he would have probably seen his second yellow for his next foul, which looked like a matter of when, not if.

Therefore, Ten Hag was right to not risk that outcome, taking the player off even though he was looking threatening and full of invention.

Having been snubbed from the England team again, he will have two full weeks to rest and recuperate, eager to get back to the levels seen of him in Ten Hag's first season.