Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker has insisted that one area he could criticise Erik ten Hag on is the Manchester United manager’s public criticism of his players.
Ten Hag was widely praised for his debut season at United after his move from Ajax in 2022, with the Dutchman ending the club’s six-year trophy drought last season.
However, the 53-year-old former Ajax boss has also faced his fair share of drama at Old Trafford so far, including Cristiano Ronaldo’s falling out with Ten Hag.
Ronaldo publicly blasted Ten Hag over his treatment at United during an interview with Piers Morgan, with the club legend making his dramatic exit from Old Trafford.
Ten Hag has seen a rift with Jadon Sancho this season after he revealed why the United winger had failed to make the matchday squad against Arsenal in September.
Sancho pulled no punches towards the United boss’ public criticism with his own response, with the ex-Borussia Dortmund star later excluded from the first team.
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Lineker on Ten Hag’s public criticisms at United
Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, Lineker spoke out about “player power things” after United’s 1-0 defeat to Newcastle at St James’ Park on Saturday.
The Match of the Day host believes that Ten Hag has taken the wrong approach at United so far when it comes to his handling of criticisms aimed at some players.
“It’s hard to tell with these player power things but it felt like they downtooled a little bit at the weekend against Newcastle, that’s for sure,” Lineker said.
“They didn’t exactly put too much effort in.
“I mean, sometimes that can be confused with a lack of confidence and when you are losing your way on the pitch. But generally, it is the manager that suffers under these circumstances.
“But talking about player power, certainly in the modern age, managing has changed. You have to have the players on board, you can’t just go around b********g players; in fact, it was always a no-go when you go public with players.
“I think that is the one area that I would criticise Ten Hag a little bit — I don’t think he’s handled situations brilliantly with various players.
“He’s had a lot to deal with, but he’s repeatedly been critical openly and publicly and that is the one thing, even when I played, that was unacceptable.
“You could take any type of b********g in the dressing room, but anything a manager does to put you down publicly is a no-no.”
Lineker overlooking Ten Hag’s managing of other situations
Lineker seemed to overlook the more proactive approach that Ten Hag took with some of his United players, including Sancho taking a period of leave last season.
The United boss protected Sancho from heavy criticism and even reintegrated him into the Red Devils’ first team after the end of his three-month absence.
Ten Hag also showed exemplary leadership with his handling of Marcus Rashford this season after the United star’s nightclub outing following the Manchester derby.
The Dutchman made his feelings perfectly clear on Rashford’s situation, having spoken to him about it and then telling the media the rest was an “internal matter.”
The Ronaldo and Ten Hag rift was a whole different situation, but it’s safe to say that the United boss has learned from his mistakes in the past.
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