After listening to former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag talk about his players, it’s easy to see why things went so badly. – There were three players in particular that Erik ten Hag communicated poorly with: Cristiano Ronaldo, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho.
After the dismissal of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in November 2021, Ralf Rangnick convinced the Man United management to pay him for the role of substitute and advisor. We can’t bear to be reminded of how this went, you know the story. Then came the stone-faced Ten Hag in 2022. The “experts” applauded, finally a tough coach who would get the hang of Manchester United and underperforming players.
Erik ten Hag has spoken about his time at Old Trafford in a new interview.
The Dutch manager was sacked by Manchester United in October after a poor start to the season, with a defeat against West Ham proving to be his last game for the Red Devils. – Erik ten Hag was in full control of 128 games, winning 70, drawing 23 and losing 35 to end up with a 55% win.
He won both the Carabao Cup and FA Cup during his tenure, but poor performances in the league, combined with a much-maligned style of play, led to Ten Hag being sacked.
Erik ten Hag’s agency has produced an interview podcast with his client (where they manage questions and edit answers), it was especially a part of the interview we got hung up on.
-My generation had much thicker skin. You could be much more direct. If I was with my players, they would be demotivated… This generation struggles to deal with criticism,” says Ten Hag.
The players can’t stand being criticized. We think it has to do with the way you do it, Erik.
We let Raphael Varane take his version of what happened in the dressing room with Ten Hag as coach. For the record, we remind you that Varane has played under coaches such as Mourinho, Ancelotti, Benitez, Zidane and Didier Deschamps.
“We had a big conversation (with Ten Hag), where we told each other things we thought, but then I didn’t play for almost two months. I said that I didn’t agree with some things when it came to the relationship between him and the team. It was something I thought was not good for the team, because some of the players were not happy at all,” Varane told The Athletic this month.
We believe the Solskjaer method beats the Ten Hag method seven days a week. For those who are in doubt, look at what is happening at Besiktas with Solskjaer on guard.
Ten Hag was no stranger to confrontation at Old Trafford and had well-publicised issues with Ronaldo, Rashford and Sancho – the latter was ostracised from the first-team environment after publishing a statement on social media denying the former Ajax boss’s claims about his efforts in training at a post-Arsenal press conference.
“The generation I grew up in had much thicker skin,” he said on SEG Stories, according to the BBC.
Ten Hag has been linked with a number of vacancies since being sacked by United, who have continued to struggle under successor Ruben Amorim and sit 15th in the Premier League.
However, the 55-year-old has stated that he will continue to enjoy a break from management until July rolls around, as he is not interested in returning to management during the season.
Ten Hag said: “I have already decided not to take any job until 1 July, then until the start of the new season.”
Ten Hag also issued a warning of sorts to Amorim, pointing out that incredibly high standards are expected for a club that has won 13 Premier League titles.
“We’ve had a lot of highlights at Man United, but as I always say: there’s always room for improvement,” Ten Hag explained.
“Good is not good enough.”
