Ten Hag ‘refuses to bow’ to senior Man Utd stars as ‘United declined to comment’

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·08 de dezembro de 2023

Ten Hag ‘refuses to bow’ to senior Man Utd stars as ‘United declined to comment’

Erik ten Hag directs his Manchester United players.

The Daily Mail is making damn sure they’re not going to be banned from Manchester United press conferences while continuing to report clashes between Erik ten Hag and his players.

Vídeos OneFootball

Recent reports have claimed the United stars feel as though they’re being overworked in training, and the Mail now report that Ten Hag has ‘fielded several complaints from members of the players’ leadership group in recent weeks’.

There are ‘particular gripes over the limited number of rest days they are given and the squad’s inability to plan their time off’.

The Dutch boss is said to provide a weekly training schedule that he reserved the right to alter depending on results – ‘some players want to to be able to plan further ahead’.

The report claims Luke Shaw, Marcus Rashford, Raphael Varane, Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez and reserve goalkeeper Tom Heaton are members of the leadership group but not all of them have complained.

The report adds:

‘Whilst listening to their concerns Ten Hag’s response is understood to have been uncompromising in stating that the highest standards of dedication and sacrifice are required to play for a club such as United and that the players should be prepared to put their bodies on the line. ‘The Dutchman has granted occasional extra days off this season, but is convinced that the Premier League is becoming more physically demanding and makes no apologies for the demands he makes of his players.’

The Mail ended the article by making clear that ‘United declined to comment’ in a bid to avoid the fate of rival publications.

Sky Sports’ Kaveh Solekhol, Manchester Evening News’ Samuel Luckhurst, The Mirror’s David McDonnell and ESPN’s Rob Dawson were all refused entry to the media briefing ahead of Thursday’s (AEDT) game against Chelsea at Old Trafford.

The decision was made from the club’s communications director Andrew Ward because the quartet failed to reach out to the club for comment before publishing stories.

Speaking on the decision, Ten Hag said: “They should come to us first and not go around our back printing articles, that is not the right thing.

“I think we have another relationship, they can, they should come to us beforehand, we have a normal and professional discussion and debate about it.”

United then confirmed they had “taken action against several news organisations not for publishing stories we don’t like, but for doing so without contacting us first to give us the opportunity to comment, challenge or contextualise.”