Erik ten Hag has finally departed Manchester United after two-and-a-half-years at the Old Trafford helm – and although there were many reasons as to why the Dutchman lost his job on the Red Devils throne, reports have stated that the former Ajax boss believes his senior players have contributed to his shortcomings with Marcus Rashford being name-checked.
With United only winning one of their last eight games in all competitions, and one of their last 11 in Europe, it has been enough for Ten Hag to finally be given the boot after what has been a poor year at the helm, despite their FA Cup win. But although results are the main reason for his sacking, he feels he hasn’t been helped by the players that he should have been able to count upon more than others.
Ten Hag ‘Let Down’ by Manchester United’s Senior Stars
The Dutchman feels he wasn’t helped by his experienced players
The report from the Daily Star suggests that, despite spending over £600million on new signings in his reign and failing to even come close to the Premier League title, Ten Hag felt that he had been let down by a number of senior players in his time at Old Trafford, which may have contributed to his lack of top-flight success.
Erik Ten Hag’s Premier League statistics – Manchester United squad ranking, 24/25 | ||
|---|---|---|
Stats | Output | Squad rank |
Wins | 3 | =10th |
Goals scored | 8 | 18th |
Goals conceded | 11 | =7th |
Shots taken per game | 14.4 | 6th |
Shots conceded per game | 11.7 | 6th |
xG | 15.69 | 12th |
Namely, the report states that Rashford, alongside his Brazilian recruits in Casemiro and Antony who were reported to be on a collective £850,000-per-week, were three players to let him down in his time at the Theatre of Dreams. Rashford suffered one of his worst seasons of his career last year with just eight goals in all competitions compared to his 30 in Ten Hag’s first season – whilst Casemiro has declined immensely since his move from Real Madrid, and Antony has proven to be a terrible pound-for-pound signing for the club since his move from Ajax back in 2022.
With the Red Devils in 14th, there is no getting away from the fact that most players at Old Trafford didn’t help his cause, but Ten Hag’s lack of tactical nous in the Premier League typically set the Red Devils up for defeat again and again in more than just one competition.
As a result, it’s effectively Ten Hag’s poor performances in the United dugout that have seen him been given the boot, and with Ruben Amorim set to replace him the dugout, it may be interesting to see if they perform better under the Portuguese boss.
Statistics courtesy of WhoScored. Correct as of 29-10-24.