ERIK TEN HAG bizarrely admits he is listening to criticism from PUNDITS to get his Manchester United reign on track.
That is despite the under-pressure manager going to war with them twice this season.
Ten Hag is back in the firing line after United’s lacklustre 1-1 Europa League draw with FC Twente on Wednesday.
And he said of the pundits: “Some give very good advice.
“For me, the best advice is stay clinical and see where the team is and which areas we have to improve.
“You can have an opinion about football and when you’re in the job, you have to deal with this. Respect the criticism.”
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Ten Hag previously branded Jamie Redknapp “crazy” for claiming he axed Marcus Rashford for the draw at Crystal Palace because of problems behind the scenes.
At the time, he said: “I don’t understand the criticism. People are entitled [to criticise] if they want to, but not entitled to bring speculation.”
And after the humbling 3-0 defeat by Liverpool at the start of this month, Ten Hag hit back at jibes over the performance, saying: “I’m sorry for you, I have another vision.”
More flak will almost certainly come his way if there is another flop against Tottenham on Sunday – much like Shearer’s criticism of his side last season.
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But the Dutchman now says: “I can’t take every criticism into account. I don’t read, of course, all the criticism.
“It’s not even possible. I don’t even want to know.
“Stay methodical, guide the team on the right pathway and make sure you make the right steps to get the best out of the team.”
United go into the game lying 11th and Ten Hag accepts that his young team have to keep taking opinions on the chin.
He says: “They will be judged every game — and that’s normal.
“Everyone, for every game, is expecting United to be winning. It isn’t a secret for anyone.
“When you are in this club, you have to deal with this factor and we do. It doesn’t matter whether you are young or old.
“We have to cope with this and get the best out of it and match the expectations that everyone has.
“But we know also that young players, a young squad, a new team, takes some time.
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“We are going in a good direction in the last couple of weeks in many aspects of football.
“Now it’s about being more efficient and scoring more goals.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
