Erik ten Hag has lost elements of the dressing room at Manchester United, with players questioning his playing style and treatment of Jadon Sancho, according to Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol.
A group of players is becoming disenchanted with the Dutchman after United slumped to an abject 1-0 defeat at Newcastle on Saturday - their 10th loss of the season in all competitions.
One source has claimed Ten Hag has lost 50 per cent of the dressing room, with his refusal to act on concerns voiced by United's players and the continued exile of Sancho cited as factors.
"We should make it clear that it's very easy to kick a club when they're down. It's easy to kick Erik ten Hag when he's down. It's really easy to say he's lost the dressing room and that the players are not playing for him," chief reporter Solhekol said.
"My information is that some of the players are confused with what is happening. He has lost elements of the dressing room. One source tells me that he's lost about 50 per cent of the dressing room.
"Quite a few players are unhappy with the style of play, they also feel that they're training too hard and that they're running too much during training. I was told that the players don't know what they're running for.
"Also, some senior players have spoken to Erik ten Hag about where they feel the club is going wrong. They've spoken to him about their other experiences of playing for big clubs, and they feel that the manager should be a little bit more touchy-feely.
"They feel his man-management could be a little bit better, but Erik ten Hag is the boss and he's the one who calls the shots. He is not for turning. He is going to do things his way.
"I've also been told that a few of the players believe that he is too set in his ways and he's too robotic."
Ten Hag has also lost support in the United dressing room over the ongoing stand-off with Sancho, who has not featured for the club since August after declaring on social media he has "been a scapegoat for a long time".
"A few of the players are also unhappy at how Jadon Sancho has been treated," Solhekol added. "He's got people in the dressing room who are close to him and he's been totally frozen out because he's refused to apologise to Erik ten Hag.
"He's training with the kids and he's eating on his own. Quite a few of the players feel like that has gone too far. There's always unhappy people in a dressing room, but when you're losing games, there are even more of them."
keaadt
307
I don’t know why they unhappy don’t they get paid hefty money to do their job on the field whatever the job is. Last game rashford was moving so lazy I would have taken him off I don’t care how good a player he is.
kazapride
261
United player are nothing but usl**s, how many mangers will they sack to get it right.
Pawaclnpru
204
He will continue to have issues one after the other with those players with his bossy attitude towards them he should understand that they are top class stars & not secondary school children so that they will play out their hearts for him & get the desired results bossing them around will only help in his being sacked. They are established star in their own right & not school children.
Taknet
202
Man united Legends always criticised the coach,we as fans get in the middle of legends frustration and start seeing our coach as someone who doesn’t know what he’s doing.Lets support our manager in difficult times,Liverpool was struggling last season, but never thought of changing the manager, changing coaches now and then is really not helping the club
JoyNg01
158
How they haters managed to convince the world that the person who was scoring goals was the Problem at the club!!😏 That pressing is more important than scoring 🙃! Witchcraft is real!🔥🔥
stephenMKonor
11
I don’t know why they unhappy don’t they get paid hefty money to do their job on the field whatever the job is. Last game rashford was moving so lazy I would have taken him off I don’t care how good a player he is.
that's what your mentalities are, you care about the money and yourself only. unfortunately for them, they care about the well being of their colleagues as well. football is not only about making money...