RAGING Erik ten Hag went “really mad” with the hairdryer treatment to reignite Manchester United.
Boss Ten Hag had his biggest blow-up since taking over after their Europa League shambles in Seville.
The United gaffer said: “After Sevilla, I was really mad. For me it was so unacceptable because if you play a quarter-final in the Europa League you give everything and we didn’t.
“You can make a mistake but you have to carry on.”
Ten Hag had previously torn into his players after the woeful 4-0 defeat at Brentford in August and the humiliating 7-0 trouncing at Liverpool last month.
Asked about his own hairdryer treatment, he said: “I can go strong in certain situations.
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“But it’s about the timing of when to use it.
“As a coach, communication style, you can pick many styles and this is one of them.
“For any club, for any team, for me that is unacceptable.
“As a manager I can’t accept that my team is not giving its best. The team, individuals . . . I will never accept it.”
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Ten Hag took a leaf out of Fergie’s book — their legendary former boss used the tactic and has two Champions Leagues, 13 Premier Leagues and five FA Cups with United to his name.
And the current players have not exactly been a cut above the rest with David de Gea and captain Harry Maguire culpable of committing huge errors in Thursday’s nightmare in Spain.
Ten Hag added: “I made the players aware what my analysis was, what my feeling about the game was and what the effects of the game were.
“They didn’t match the standards of who I manage, a team in professional football.”
And Ten Hag could find himself facing a defensive dilemma with Luke Shaw picking up a knock in his return in Sevilla following a spell on the sidelines.
Casemiro is likely to be called on to solve the crisis at centre-back — which creates a separate dilemma in midfield.
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They are, however, boosted by the return of Bruno Fernandes, who was suspended for the game in Spain.
Ten Hag, whose team are chasing a Double after their Carabao Cup win, insisted: “I’ve said before that one of the things we haven’t had is the opportunity so often to play the same team.
“In the midfield department but also other lines, the front line for instance — it hasn’t often played the same, because of injuries and suspensions.
“When you play a semi-final, you only have one opportunity to win, so you’re looking for the best team in that moment.
“This season is crazy with the World Cup in between — and many of our players were present there. Then we played an extra round in the Europa League, so we have maybe played the most games of all teams across Europe.
“But we have to acknowledge that especially in the front line we had problems during the whole season because we didn’t always have the numbers there, so then you are forced to make decisions because you have to win games.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
