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The Athletic journalist Andy Mitten has revealed what a section of the Manchester United players truly think about manager Erik ten Hag.
Ten Hag is currently facing intense pressure, following the team’s devastating 0-3 loss at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
United were second best for large parts of the match and the scoreline could have been even worse for them were it not for Andre Onana, who came up with a string of heroic saves to spare them even more blushes.
The defeat has led to renewed speculation over Ten Hag’s future at United, despite his insistence that he is not at all worried about his position.
A report covered by The Peoples Person relayed that while there is no immediate desire from club bosses to sack him before the international break, they will not hesitate to be ruthless and cut him loose if results do not drastically improve in the two upcoming matches vs. Porto and Aston Villa in the Europa League and Premier League respectively.
Against Spurs, the United players looked defeated, dejected and bereft of any ideas or imagination. They were uninspiring and never once looked like they had any chance of getting themselves out of their predicament.
According to the reliable Mitten, he held conversations with some of the players in the aftermath of the FA Cup final win vs. Manchester City and got their opinions on Ten Hag.
Mitten wrote for The Athletic, “An hour after the FA Cup final win, I spoke to half a dozen of them [players] outside the dressing room and asked them about the manager. The words weren’t being recorded. Not one said the manager should absolutely be sacked. And not one said he should absolutely stay. Yet there were clear issues between players and manager about his style.”
One United star apparently told Mitten, “You cannot have teams in the relegation zone like Sheffield United and Burnley coming to Old Trafford and carving us open.”
The Athletic journalist further notes, “To get to and win the cup final, United had changed their style following that humiliating defeat at Palace. Then Ten Hag listened to the coaches around him. Pragmatism triumphed and wins followed.”
Mitten’s information somewhat aligns with an unconfirmed report on X (formerly Twitter), which claims that Ten Hag and his coaching staff don’t fully see eye-to-eye on a number of things.
In fact, it’s thought that assistant coach Ruud van Nistelrooy – who has been tipped to potentially succeed Ten Hag on an interim basis – is a more likeable figure among the players.
“Rvn has been a big hit behind the scenes with the players. His training sessions are meant to be very good. There are issues in terms of the coaching staff and manager not necessarily agreeing on the tactical set up on a match day.”
Rvn has been a big hit behind the scenes with the players.
His training sessions are meant to be very good. There are issues in terms of the coaching staff and manager not necessarily agreeing on the tactical set up on a match day.Changing approach week to week is killing us. https://t.co/JZ4sJuwmQP
— CC16 (@CCTransfers16) October 1, 2024
Meanwhile, a report from The Daily Mail (via Sky Sports) points out that the squad expects Ten Hag to be sacked, as the Dutchman once again battles to save his job.
Porto vs. United kicks off on Thursday at 20:00 BST.
Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images
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