Erik ten Hag behaviour 'unacceptable' as ex-Man United star demands change

Erik ten Hag has been told to stop making excuses for Manchester United’s failings as the Dutchman clings to his job.

Having narrowly avoided the sack in the summer, Ten Hag is once again under immense pressure, with United 14th in the Premier League and winless in the Europa League. His future was discussed at the club’s monthly meeting, which sources insisted was a run-of-the-mill affair.

While it seems Ten Hag will still be in situ when United resume their Premier League campaign against Brentford on October 19, patience is wearing thin both inside and outside the club. Ex-players haven’t wasted the opportunity to pile in on the former Ajax boss, with former United striker Louis Saha bemoaning the head coach’s public statements and branding his excuses 'unacceptable'.

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He told Paddy Power: “If the momentum is going the way it is for Manchester United, it will be hard for Erik ten Hag to feel supported.

“He can say all the positive things he likes, as he has the role to do that as the manager and talk about injuries and other topics. But at some point, we’ll need to see something working.”

The former France forward, who scored 42 goals in 124 games for United, wants Ten Hag to start taking more responsibility. He continued: “I’m getting frustrated with his communication. He can’t say winning trophies is enough – it's not. You can’t lose all these games and almost accept it. I'm not saying he is accepting it, but he’s almost defending it which is unacceptable.

“He doesn’t put himself in the firing line, it's mostly his players or injuries, but it’s never his tactics.”

On the team’s general lack of cohesion, Saha said: “The problem is that I don’t see any links in the midfield. There’s nothing between Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford, for example.

“These links, when you have more than one or two, mean that those guys don’t need to talk or move, they know each other so well. I don’t see that with United. I think that’s what all the fans are saying, that they don’t see the path. They are finding excuses all the time.”

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