Manchester United have won two of their opening three Premier League matches, but after labouring against both Wolves and Nottingham Forest, Erik ten Hag is demanding more
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Erik ten Hag has blasted his Manchester United players for not working hard enough.
The Dutchman feels some of his attacking stars failed to put in the hard yards by defending from the front during last week’s 3-2 home victory over Nottingham Forest. And ahead of the daunting trip to face Arsenal, he has warned that they will have to get a sweat on if they are to build on the promise of last season by building a sustained challenge for the title.
Ten Hag said: “One of the reasons why I was not pleased was because the front and back didn’t do their jobs. We got stretched and we have to improve that. We have to be more compact otherwise you can never counter-press.
“I had a problem with how the defence moved and I had a problem with the response in the defensive transition of our offensive players. It is definitely attitude. You improve by being demanding and matching standards. That is what I demand.
“Last year they showed they can do it in almost every game - and I expect it even more. We can’t make compromises because then you become vulnerable and you don’t win games.”
Ten Hag criticised his team for not giving him 100 percent effort when they were thrashed 4-0 at Brentford at the start of last season.
Erik ten Hag ripped into his Man Utd charges - despite winning two of their three games this season (
Image:
MUTV)
He then cancelled their day off and called them into training for an gruelling eight-mile punishment run after club analysts informed him how much Brentford’s players had outworked his side. Ten Hag then stunned his players by running alongside them despite the scorching 30 degree temperatures.
And despite winning two of their opening three Premier League matches, Ten Hag has been unimpressed with his richly assembled squad, labelling their workrate in defeat at Tottenham as “unacceptable”.
He said: “They didn’t run. They ran in the wrong moments, too late – especially the front. They didn’t recover. It’s a demand here - if you want to win games. For the first 35 minutes, we were so good at Tottenham.
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“We dominated totally. We should’ve scored minimum once, I think twice. They were nowhere, nothing. And then things happened in the game and the players got distracted, not doing their jobs anymore.
“I’m not used to it from this team because they always do it. It’s what the fans can expect and what we demand. The demand at United is you do it for 90 minutes every game no matter what.
“I have told them that it isn’t acceptable. We have to work together as a team and everybody individually has to take responsibility. We need accountable players. The first two games weren’t good enough.”
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