- Erik ten Hag has previously criticized his critics for ‘speculation’ about Rashford
- He has now made his final statement following his verbal war with Jamie Redknapp
- LISTEN NOW: It all starts!available wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Monday and Thursday
Erik ten Hag has once again spoken out about criticism of his work as Manchester United boss from some leading experts in English football.
The Dutchman was recently involved in a war of words with Jamie Redknapp, who he called ‘crazy’ after the pundit suggested he had dropped Marcus Rashford against Crystal Palace over a disciplinary issue.
Alan Shearer agreed with Redknapp’s assessment after Ten Hag raised the subject of Rashford’s lifestyle ahead of the 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park.
Ten Hag initially pushed back strongly, but has now admitted that he embraces some of the criticism – although he did not name whose opinion he values.
“Some experts give very good advice,” he said this afternoon ahead of Manchester United’s match against Tottenham.
Erik ten Hag admitted that some experts give “very good advice” in a reversal of his earlier words
The Manchester United boss had hit out at ‘mad’ Jamie Redknapp over ‘speculation’ over why he dropped Marcus Rashford against Crystal Palace
Redknapp had claimed that ‘something happened’ between Ten Hag and Rashford
‘For me the best advice is to remain clinical and look at where the team is and what areas we need to improve.
‘You are allowed to have an opinion about football and when you are at work, you have to deal with it. Respect the criticism.’
It marks a change in attitude from a manager who has been lukewarm towards critics this season. He told Mail Sport football editor Ian Ladyman that he ‘feels sorry for him’ in a fiery exchange after the 3-0 defeat to Liverpool in early September.
Redknapp initially wondered whether Ten Hag and Rashford had fallen out after the manager dropped the striker against Palace despite scoring three times in two games.
It feels like something went wrong. Obviously I don’t know the details, but you don’t drop a player who has scored two in midweek (against Barnsley) and scored against Southampton,” he told Sky Sports.
“It feels like something happened this week. It is unusual for a manager to come out and almost come out as a player by talking about his lifestyle. Sir Alex Ferguson would never do it, while Ten Hag will do it occasionally and it is not always to the player’s advantage.’
Ten Hag then hit back by accusing the microphone man of having no idea what he is talking about.
“I’ve already heard speculation from some experts,” the United boss said. ‘That’s crazy. “I would almost say that as a person you are not okay to make such speculations when you don’t know what is going on,” he said.
Ten Hag said Rashford needs to ‘get his life in order’ to rediscover his best form at United
Alan Shearer suggested the decision indicated something happened behind the scenes
‘This is just rotation. We have a lot of games to play and more than eleven players, but we have to give all players their chances if they perform. Eventually we will find out and the players who perform better will play more.
‘But this has nothing to do (with Rashford). I am very happy with Marcus with everything: his defense, his attacking part. He is scoring at the moment, he is performing very well. So nothing to do with him being on the bench, just rotation.”
Days later, he doubled down on his response, adding, “I didn’t understand the criticism,” he said. ‘People have the right to do so if they want to, but what they do not have the right to do is to provoke speculation. When I explain, they have to trust my words. If they don’t, that’s not right.’
With United since drawing 1-1 at home with his former club FC Twente in the Europa League, Ten Hag’s attitude appears to have softened as he is more open to appreciation.