Manchester United players have decided that they will never throw Erik ten Hag under the bus regardless of how bad things are to get under his reign, claims The Atletic’s David Ornstein. This was done after the Red Devils suffered a shocking 4-0 loss to Brentford in the second game week of the 2022/23 Premier League season.
Manchester United Squad Will Not Turn on Erik ten Hag
⚽️🎥 OVERLAP FAN DEBATE 🎥⚽️
◼️ Arteta + owners role in Arsenal rise
◼️ Liverpool’s early-season problems
◼️ Impact of Haaland at Man City
◼️ Man Utd stabilising under Ten Hag🤝 W/ @GNev2 @lauriewhitwell & fans from each club@Buzz16 @TheAthleticUK pic.twitter.com/vTYfdA08kP
— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) October 12, 2022
United Stars Ready to Criticise Executives Over Ten Hag
The Manchester club’s squad seems to have formed a close bond with the Dutch manager since he arrived from Ajax at the end of last season. Ten Hag is trying his best to implement a new playing style at Old Trafford, which focuses more on dominating possession as well as making his side a more hard-working unit.
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The majority of the players seem to like this, as they decided never to throw their current gaffer under the bus for their own sake or that of the club. Ornstein said: “After the Brentford defeat, I was being told by people close to the club and first team, if the players are going to turn on anyone this time it’s not going to be Erik ten Hag, they’re going to go above that and throw executives under the bus, but never Erik ten Hag.”
Ten Hag: "I told the players weeks ago, before the break, it was important to win the group. We want to win all the games, but it's clear, we want to avoid that [finishing second in group]." #mufc #UEL https://t.co/RDuhHwppRS pic.twitter.com/ZepYbV8pU5
— Man United News (@ManUtdMEN) October 13, 2022
United Squad’s History of Losing Confidence in Managers
The reason why some fans were worried that the Dutch manager’s position at United might be under threat after the Brentford loss, in which his players failed to follow his tactics, is because the Red Devils’ squad has a history of throwing their manager under the bus. They did so with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer last season, as their performances fell to such low standards – a few months after the squad finished second in the 2020/21 Premier League season – is that the Norwegian was forced to face the consequences and was fired.
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Ralf Rangnick’s reign as an interim manager was also vastly underwhelming, mostly as the players failed to execute his style or tactics properly. But they seem to have been won over by Ten Hag, who has guided them to win five out of their last six Premier League games since the Brentford drubbing.
The Dutch manager – who has been compared to Pep Guardiola and called a “down to earth coach” by ex-Ajax star Ronald de Boer – seems quite popular with the Manchester club’s squad and they’ve bought into his vision for the future as well.
