ERIK TEN HAG has reportedly given his Manchester United flops two days OFF following the dismal 1-0 defeat against West Ham.
David de Gea’s error proved pivotal as the Red Devils were unable to force a comeback at the London Stadium.
The result has left Man Utd clinging onto the top four with just one point now separating them from fifth-place Liverpool, albeit with a game in hand.
But in an effort to curb their recent sticky patch, Ten Hag has opted to use the carrot rather than the stick method.
The Dutchman is known for his strict demands of the squad, famously making them run almost 14km following the 4-0 drubbing against Brentford at the start of the season.
However, the Athletic have reported that Ten Hag has given his side two days off from training to help players recharge their batteries.
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United have played 57 games so far this season and will go north of 60 by the time the campaign finishes.
Indeed, their hectic schedule has seen them average one game every 3.8 days since the Qatar World Cup.
This workload seems to finally be taking its toll on the squad, with a lack of quality depth and injuries not affording Ten Hag the luxury to rotate as he would like.
And it has seen a dip in form for a number of key stars, notably Casemiro and Marcus Rashford, with the latter managing just four goals and two assists in all competitions since the start of March.
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They will have a full week of rest ahead of their next game against Wolves.
On this resting period, Ten Hag said: “It’s the first time since Christmas that those players have a full week.
“We have to reset, reload, get the energy back and keep going.
“But tiredness is in your head. If you want, if you have the willingness, you can take it.
“It’s now up to the players, me and the coaching staff to be together, get the willingness in and the belief that we can take it and this team has it.
“You can’t feel sorry for yourself, as a team stick together, as an individual take responsibility, make sure you have the energy, you have the focus.
“Then play as a team and you get a result because we have proof of that all season.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
