Manchester United: Erik ten Hag says players must be ‘robots’ or ‘they’re in the wrong place’
Erik ten Hag insists his Manchester United players must be ‘robots’ between now and the end of the season… otherwise ‘they are in the wrong place’ if they can’t meet his demands
- Manchester United returned to ‘old habits’ in their 2-0 defeat to Newcastle
- Erik ten Hag says his players should be ‘robots’ by finishing the season strong
- He says the players who don’t get the message are ‘in the wrong place’
Erik ten Hag has warned his players that there is no future for them at Manchester United if they cannot show the passion and hunger he demands.
Nearly eight months after a 4-0 defeat at Brentford that sent Ten Hag into an early-season crisis, he still needs to remind his side of the standards required as they prepare to face Thomas Frank’s side again on Wednesday night. to meet at Old Trafford.
The Dutchman admitted they were ‘reverting to old habits’ in a 2-0 defeat at Newcastle on Sunday as United fell out of the top four after failing to win for a third consecutive Premier League game.
In August, he punished the players for the Brentford debacle by making them run 13.8km – the total distance they fell behind their opponents.
On Tuesday, the threat was greater when he called on them to be “robots and machines” by finishing the season strong.
Erik ten Hag has sent a strong signal to his players ahead of their game against Brentford
Manchester United fall into the top four after their loss to Newcastle
When asked if some players might never get the message, Ten Hag replied ominously, “If they can’t get this, they’re in the wrong place.
‘Of course you have to meet certain standards. You need to know why you are where you are, and what put us in the position. It was about determination, passion, desire, and I missed that.
“If you have a strong opponent playing above the level – and a lot of teams do against Man United – you get killed and we saw that on Sunday.
“I agree with you that we fell. I also know that there are fluctuations because humans are not robots. But we have to act like robots, we have to act like machines, we have to expect and demand from our players that they meet the standards.”
Ten Hag dismissed suggestions that United would have been knocked out after beating Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final in February, adding: “We had a tough schedule but now they’ve had their rest and that’s unacceptable.”
One player who seems to have met his manager’s demands is Luke Shaw, who signed a new four-year contract on Tuesday after calling out United’s lack of “passion, desire, hunger and attitude” at Tyneside.
Ten Hag also confirmed that Christian Eriksen has resumed full training after recovering from an ankle ligament injury. Eriksen will be unavailable against Brentford, although Aaron Wan-Bissaka returns from illness.
Meanwhile, United have announced a pre-season friendly against Borussia Dortmund in Las Vegas on July 30.
United hopes to make up for the heavy defeat against Brentford at the start of the season
