After Sunday’s humiliating derby loss to Manchester City, Manchester United players began to doubt Ten Hag’s strategic choices.
At Old Trafford, the Red Devils got off to a strong start, but halfway through the first half, a Haaland penalty put them behind. After the break, though, United’s boisterous neighbors let loose, and Haaland added a second goal before setting up Phil Foden, as City cruised to a spectacular 3-0 victory.
The outcome will only put more strain on Ten Hag, who has had a challenging start to the 2023–24 season after garnering a lot of praise in his first year in charge. But it doesn’t exactly look good for the Dutchman or United that his players apparently weren’t happy with his approach versus City.
The Sun claims that a number of United players were “dumbfounded” by Ten Hag’s tactical choices, which included his preference for Victor Lindelof to start at left-back instead of Sergio Reguilon and his suggestion that Bruno Fernandes be used in a wide offensive role rather than centrally, where he excels.
Despite United’s dismal performance in the derby and the general uncertainty surrounding the club’s future in light of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s attempt to take over sporting affairs, it seems like Ten Hag’s job is not in danger right now.
This is because, despite Ten Hag overseeing United’s worst start to a season in 37 years, chief executive Richard Arnold, who was present at the game on Sunday, told observers that the team is still making “good progress” under his leadership.
In an exceptional meeting last month, Arnold expressed similar views about Ten Hag and made it plain that the United manager still has the full backing of the club hierarchy.
Even still, there will likely be unrest in the locker room given that United has now dropped five of its first ten Premier League games. The team has also had difficulty in Europe, but last week they managed to finally make a breakthrough in the Champions League on their third try.
Ten Hag maintained his positive attitude following the game despite having a challenging afternoon at Old Trafford, when supporters jeered his choice to substitute Rasmus Hojlund as United was pursuing the game. “I think we are on the way up,” he told reporters, citing his team’s victories in the previous three games and their excellent spirit.
“We are on the upswing, but the beginning was challenging.” Our team will undoubtedly be stronger when our injured players return. We must exercise patience.