Manchester United's Raphael Varane, Ronaldo, and Dalot

In the coming days, we will find out which Manchester United players Erik ten Hag has the most faith in during a week that might have a large bearing on how well the team performs for the remainder of the current campaign. Even though the majority of the post-match narrative was directed at the referee, rather than admitting their own role in the dropped points, their own shortcomings were made clear in a goalless draw with Newcastle at the weekend. This was the case despite the fact that their own shortcomings were made clear.

The team coached by Ten Hag was outplayed in the first half and were fortunate to go into the break tied following evident control by Newcastle. Even on the exceedingly rare instances when they did generate something, they were extremely wasteful in front of goal, despite the fact that there was a noticeable improvement after the halftime.

Marcus Rashford was substituted for Cristiano Ronaldo in a last-ditch effort to influence the course of the game. To be fair to him, he had an immediate impression, even though he failed to capitalize on the two important opportunities that came his way during his time on the field.

It was so close to the second time in the span of four days that Ten Hag's substitutions impacted the final score, despite the fact that there was reluctance to take more risks with Rashford being the only one of five permissible substitutes deployed on the day.

It was telling that, despite a poor performance in which they were short on ideas, the Dutchman only made one change rather than gambling on an unproven youngster to influence the game. The majority of those named on the bench at the weekend never looked like they were coming on, and it was telling that they never looked like they were coming on.

After all the money they have spent, there is little sympathy for the manager if he complains about the lack of depth available to him, even though it is quite clear that he does not yet trust all of the players. The absence of Anthony Martial, Christian Eriksen, and Scott McTominay certainly limited the viable options for Ten Hag on the day, but after all the money they have spent, there is little sympathy for the manager if he complains about the lack of viable options.

However, not all of the blame lies with him in this situation. It is only more evidence of how early on in his rebuild we are and how long there is to go before he has a full team of players that fit into his utopian vision for the future. This is merely further evidence of how early on in his rebuild we are.

Worrisome, however, is the fact that United will not continue to support Ten Hag with as much money as he had this summer, and that before they endorse any further player purchases, they will at the very least want him to fully explore the options that are already available to him. This is a situation that is bound to cause frustration for Ten Hag.

When he was given the job earlier in the year, the United hierarchy made it very clear to the Dutch manager that in addition to signing new players, he would also be required to get the most out of underperforming stars who were already at the club. This was communicated to the manager when the job was given to him earlier in the year.

That has certainly worked to some degree already in regards to Martial and Rashford's rejuvenated form up front, but there is still work to be done in order to make more out of the peripheral figures who have not yet featured properly this season. That has worked in regards to Martial and Rashford's rejuvenated form up front.

Ahead of the match against Tottenham in the middle of the week, Ten Hag issued a warning to his team, saying, "We have to make it our game, so we need the best from everyone: the 11 players on the pitch, but everyone on the bench that can make a difference."

There will be extra strength in depth to rely upon on Wednesday night as a result of the expected returns of Eriksen and McTominay to the team; nonetheless, the onus will be on Ten Hag to be even more courageous with his lineup alterations.

Even if he may not have complete faith in all of the backup plans that are currently available to him, it is probable that he will have no choice but to place his confidence in them sooner rather than later.