ERIK TEN HAG has dealt his Manchester United players another warning, saying: Stop folding like a pack of cards.
The Red Devils’ supposed aces have looked like jokers — conceding 14 goals in their last five games and losing three in a row.
But Ten Hag has also claimed his shuffled Old Trafford squad and staff are ‘united’ — despite Jadon Sancho being kept out of the pack.
On United’s defending, the Dutch boss said: “It’s about 11 players who do their job.
“I always tell my players we attack with 11 and defend with 11.
“When one or two are not doing their job, it’s like a pack of cards. So that is not only one or two players.”
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Asked if he knew why a team that had the most clean sheets in the league last season, 17, is now not working for each other, Ten Hag replied: “No.
“When you are in a period like we are in, you are asking yourself these questions. My job is to get them to do the job.
“We have shown that we can do it.
“Last year we had the most clean sheets in the Premier League because we defended very well as a team. We have to get back to those standards.
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“I am pushing the team and demanding from the team. So why are they not doing it?
“I try to find out, I try to get and give solutions and try to motivate the players to do the job.”
Sancho remains out in the cold for refusing to apologise to Ten Hag for his social media post hitting back at claims that he was not working hard enough in training.
Despite this, Ten Hag yesterday claimed everyone at the club is pulling in the same direction.
He said: “It’s my second year. I know it’s not always going up, you will have your gaps and you get stronger from it as long as you stay together, that’s what we’re doing.
“The dressing room, staff, all the staff, coaches, medical, everyone is united.”
Ten Hag has vowed to do everything he can to get to the bottom of United’s latest slump as they prepare for a trip to Burnley this weekend.
He said: “As a manager you have many tools and I make sure I use them.
“You have to be creative, you have to be innovative.”
The criticism is piling up though, especially after the Champions League beating in Munich on Wednesday.
England legend Stuart Pearce took aim at Marcus Rashford for his lack of effort off the ball.
He told talkSPORT, Rashford was running ‘like he has a fridge on his back’.
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Pearce added: “Too many have jacked it in. Rashford half running back and Casemiro half running back.”
Fans were also incensed with Scott McTominay being outpaced by the REF after he had lost the ball.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
