While news of Erik ten Hag’s departure elicited a very mixed reaction from sections of the Manchester United support, it appears things were no different in the dressing room.
Most would have to accept that, despite the ludicrous nature of Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at West Ham United, Erik ten Hag had reached the end of the line.
Free of last season’s debilitating injury crisis, with a handful of new players and finally backed by a top sporting structure, the Dutchman had no excuses to hide behind these days.
And any excuses he did attempt to deploy – Ten Hag angered the United support with his bizarre assessment of that Tottenham debacle – only served to further erode any goodwill from the terraces.
There are, however, still portions of the Red Devils fanbase who will forever be grateful to the man who ended Manchester United’s six-year trophy drought and brought the FA Cup back to Old Trafford at Man City’s expense.
Ten Hag remained thoroughly decent right until the end. A man who, in his better days, represented this proud old institution with a dignity and a statesmanlike nature in complete contrast to the headline-hogging nature of Jose Mourinho and Louis van Gaal.
How Manchester United players reacted to Erik ten Hag sacking
The Daily Mail report that the reaction from the Man United players to Ten Hag’s exit was rather ‘mixed’.
Some members of the squad felt the time had come for a change – Paul Scholes correct when he saying Man United’s results speak for themselves – while others would have liked to see him given more time.
Among those hoping for a fresh start, the Mail adds that some felt ‘over-trained’ with Ten Hag’s Carrington sessions becoming increasingly strict and monotonous.
And while the majority of Man United supporters were hardly unhappy to see Jadon Sancho go, some in the dressing room had reservations about the now Chelsea loanee’s rather brutal omission from the first-team squad.
Getting rid of a player so underwhelming off the pitch and so undermining off it was obviously the right decision. But perhaps the manner of Sancho’s departure could have been handled a little more delicately from a man-management perspective.
Peter Schmeichel reacts to Ten Hag’s Old Trafford departure
“I don’t think Erik ten Hag had the support he needed,” legendary Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel tells the official Premier League website, feeling that the Dutchman would have enjoyed a much easier time of it had Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s takeover come a few years earlier.
“He needed to be guided a little bit in what kind of players you need to bring in to Manchester United. I think he was left a little bit on his own, and that is not how modern-day football management works.
“I understand that, when you come in, you want to have control over the players you bring in. But we are not talking about Ajax. We are talking about Manchester United. You have to perform to a different level. This means you need different characters.
“Yes, you can have good dribblers. Technical, skilful players. But, mentally, are they strong enough? I’ve played with players who were not the best players in the world but they were ‘Manchester United players’.”
According to reports, Manchester United are now set to hire Ruben Amorim as Ten Hag’s replacement.
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