Manchester United icon hints players may have struggled with one piece of Erik ten Hag advice
Manchester United icon hints players may have struggled with one piece of Erik ten Hag advice
The former Man United player says off-field matters have impacted the squad's ability to perform, despite Erik ten Hag's best efforts.
Erik ten Hag’s reign at Manchester United has been blotted with controversy and off-field sagas but perhaps November 2022 will stick out as the most significant month in his tenure so far.
Cristiano Ronaldo had gone on TV to declare his disapproval of his manager after being frequently benched and then disciplined for stepping out of line. The club agreed to terminate his contract just days after the World Cup break began.
Less than a day later, the Glazers announced that they were looking for new investment amid a potential full sale. That had United fans hoping as the cameras pointed their lenses towards Old Trafford.
READ MORE: Martinez and Casemiro comebacks for United could be later than expected
READ MORE: Erik ten Hag could make unpopular Manchester United decision against Wigan
In truth, the spotlight never moves away from United, meaning any off-field issue is magnified and dissected. The takeover situation remained unresolved by the time the new season began and it wasn’t until October that Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al-Thani withdrew from the race.
By that time, the Jadon Sancho saga had started, Antony had taken a period of leave and the club hierarchy was facing scrutiny for their awful handling of the Mason Greenwood situation.
The United squad was - and still is - looking wobbly on the pitch. At least now there is some takeover clarity. However, Ten Hag insisted that the players were not distracted by the buy-out situation.
n late October, he said: “I don’t believe the squad is affected. They are not thinking about strategic reviews or structures or whatever.” This echoed his pleas of eight months earlier, when he was asked about Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe tabling buy-out bids.
“We focus on football and perform - and that is what the players and staff have to do,” he said. “We have to perform, we have to get the right results and don’t get distracted from things that are going around the club.”
Steve Bruce has kept a close eye on his former club and perhaps has some sympathy for Ten Hag having been asked to produce under Mike Ashley’s maligned ownership of Newcastle.
With United’s fortunes on the pitch going awry having already been knocked out of the Champions League and League Cup, he believes the players have been unable to implement Ten Hag’s advice, albeit they can somewhat be excused.
“There has to be a bit of stability at the top,” he told Sky Sports. “We’ve said it for long enough and I’ve been at clubs when that stability is not there - it somehow filters through [to the players].
“It shouldn’t do because obviously they're contracted and they’re professional players but it does give them a little bit of an excuse.
“The quicker that is resolved, where it’s going to lead to and they come out and say it, then obviously that stability is needed by every club, especially if you’re a club like Manchester United.
“Who’s calling the shots, is it now the new co-owner? We’ll have to wait and see but the quicker that is sorted out, the better.”
The Premier League is currently running its owners' test to determine what the ownership structure with Ratcliffe involved will look like ahead of ratification, which may come forth next month.
