Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag held his press conference ahead of tomorrow night’s game against Chelsea.
It was a brief press conference conducted, lasting under 10 minutes, with sections of the media banned after leaked reports which United claimed they were not given a right of reply on.
Manchester United fans have been having their say on United’s tough stance, backing the manager.
There is a big game ahead, with Manchester United facing Chelsea – although there were not many questions to the manager on the match at the press conference.
Ten Hag dodges Marcus Rashford question
Erik ten Hag was asked how Marcus Rashford was feeling after the intense media criticism which came his way after a shocking performance against Newcastle.
He chose not to mention Rashford at all in response, simply saying United were disappointed to lose to Newcastle.
Ten Hag said: “Everyone is disappointed when you have the result at Galatasaray and then the performance and result in Newcastle, but if you go to Newcastle we are not the only team who is losing there. I think in their home record, they win every game apart from Liverpool, when they were leading and the opponent was down to 10 and they got a turnaround.
“Apart from that, everyone is losing there but we wanted to win there. We gave everything that was in our power but definitely our performance wasn’t good enough.”
Ten Hag slams media reports
Erik ten Hag explained his reasoning behind Manchester United banning The MEN and three other news organisations from the press conference.
He said: “They should come to us first and not go around [behind] our back, printing articles that’s not the right thing. I think we have another relationship and they should give that to us beforehand and we have a normal and professional discussion and debate about it.”
He added that there are no issues in the dressing room, despite many speculating otherwise: “There are always, in every team, players who are playing less who are not happy, but [that is] not different to normal. You need that and they have to wait for their chance and they can come [into the team]. But no, there are no issues.”
Ten Hag on relationship with his players
Ten Hag insisted he has an open dialogue with his players and not a dictatorial one. He said: “I listen always to my players and I always give them opportunities to tell [me]. And if the players have a different opinion, of course, I will listen. But they haven’t told me – maybe one or two – but it’s about, in general, the majority want to play like this. Proactive, dynamic, brave. That is what they want.
“You can see the players are behind it because of the performances against Everton and Galatasaray, and we are improving. You see that [Garnacho] goal – do you think we can make a goal like we did against Everton if we didn’t embrace it? What do you think?”
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
