Erik ten Hag bites back at Jamie Carragher for ‘criticising from the first moment’ as he delivers verdict on ‘very subjective’ pundit, who spent five minutes savaging his team’s style in a Sky MNF segment

Erik ten Hag has hit back at Jamie Carragher for his ‘subjective’ criticism of Manchester United’s pressure in Saturday’s defeat to Fulham at Old Trafford.

Carragher made his comments to Sky Sports on Monday Night Football, but a prickly Ten Hag responded ahead of United’s FA Cup match against Nottingham Forest on Wednesday evening, accusing the former Liverpool defender of not being fair in his analysis.

“First of all, some analysts are very objective in their comments, (they give) very good advice, some are very subjective,” said Ten Hag.

‘Jamie Carragher has been critical from the start and now he wants to make his point clear.

‘He probably had a point in the first half hour. Fulham were a bit surprising in midfield and then we have to find the solutions. After half an hour we found the solutions.

In a five-minute segment of the show, Carragher questioned how United were applying pressure

United manager Erik ten Hag responded by saying Carragher has always been critical of his side

“I wasn’t happy with the performance of the defense, especially on the left side, how we pressed, because they got out on the left side several times, especially in the first half hour, and that can’t happen.

‘That has to do with willingness, spirit, passion, that has been very good for this team in recent weeks and that has helped us win football matches.

‘I know footballers are not robots, sometimes they have bad days. But that’s not possible, it’s unacceptable. We have to do better tomorrow, but in the weeks before we did very well. That can’t happen if they have a throw-in in the corner, how we deal with that as a team is not good.’

Speaking on Sky Sports, Carragher was scathing in his assessment of United and the way they were set up against Fulham.

“I want to highlight (Kobbie) Mainoo, who has been fantastic since he came in,” Carragher said.

“But the problem I have – it’s not a criticism of him – what are his instructions for the match?

‘This is straight from the kick-off, he’s not sure whether to take out the holding midfielder or if he has to look at the number 10, he gets caught, straight from the kick-off. You have to know your tasks from the start and that’s true. down to the technical staff.

‘Twenty seconds into the game against Fulham, it has been the problem for Manchester United all season: there is space between the back four and the midfield.

‘We look at why they are poor defensively and cannot handle counter-attacks: they have no pace at the back and a lack of legs in midfield.

Carragher used his five-minute analysis spot on Sky Sports Monday Night Football to focus on Man United’s defense during their 2-1 home defeat to Fulham

Carragher questioned the tactics both with and without Ten Hag’s ball

‘People say: ‘There are no playing patterns at Manchester United, how do they play and what is the philosophy?’ I will tell you why there are no playing patterns and why they are done with the counter-attack, the positions they are in.

“When Varane is on the ball, you have a right back, he cannot receive a pass, Mainoo, your central midfielder, he is on the last line, that cannot be right, that is not right.

‘Bruno Fernandes, on the last line, plays as a striker, he is a number 10, Victor Lindelof cannot receive the ball, the players cannot receive the ball in the positions they choose.

‘There is a huge problem for Manchester United when they have the ball… how often do you see players running 40 yards back to goal.’