Erik ten Hag has been under scrutiny for Manchester United’s underwhelming performance, with the club’s former first-team coach Benni McCarthy latest to voice his concern.
Erik ten Hag of Manchester United (Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
New Delhi: Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has been heavily criticised for his side’s underwhelming performance. Former Manchester United first-team coach Benni McCarthy is the latest critic to join the list. McCarthy was part of the club until this summer, leaving after two years to return to management.
In a recent media interaction, McCarthy voiced concerns about Ten Hag’s coaching style and said that the latter seemed to lack passion, a necessity of modern football. Commenting on the recent on-field performance, the South African manager felt that the team needed to view him beyond a strategist and rather someone who was “fighting” with them.
McCarthy hailed Ten Hag’s tactical understanding but maintained that he lacked passion. With back-to-back losses at home in Old Trafford, Ten Hag’s methods are a concern for United. With their 0-3 loss to Tottenham Hotspur last Sunday, United are placed 12th in the Premier League points table and are just four points above of the relegation points zone.
After the match, Ten Hag maintained that the team just needed time to reintegrate. The United manager maintained that he wasn’t worried about being terminated by the club’s top management. He further commented that the top brass at United had decided they wanted to rebuild the squad and had wanted him to stay back at the club.
🗣️ Benni McCarthy: “If some of the Manchester United players had what Bruno (Fernandes) and Diogo (Dalot) have, it would have been easier to achieve good results.
They both trained with incredible concentration, giving everything they had. Some of the others didn’t do the same.… pic.twitter.com/crzMbJuUac
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) October 1, 2024
Poor training standards at Manchester united
As United was headed for their UEFA Europa League against Porto, where McCarthy had played for three years, he suggested that there were many more issues beyond Ten Hag’s strategies. McCarthy, who is waiting for his next coaching assignment, criticised the training standards at United. He maintained that while players like Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot gave their everything at a training session, not all players matched this kind of work ethic.
Ten Hag’s side played a disappointing stalemate in their opening Europa League against FC Twente the previous week and will look to a good performance against Porto. The recent performance does raise questions about the dynamics within the club. The upcoming games will ascertain if the calm and calculative approach of the Dutch manager will help United turn their season around and put them on the path of rebuilding.
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