Former Manchester United midfielder Christian Eriksen has criticised his former manager for comments he made, which added pressure to the side.
During his spell at Old Trafford, Christian Eriksen never set the world alight, but overall was a solid player who brought experience to the squad. His career in the Premier League was impressive, and his comeback after his shocking collapse at the 2021 Euros was inspiring.
The Danish midfielder was brought to Manchester by Erik ten Hag, but after his departure and when Ruben Amorim took over, he found himself on the bench most weeks.
The Portuguese coach had a poor start to his life in Manchester, leading United to a 15th-place finish and making numerous controversial statements about his own team. However, one particular comment seemed to stand out over the others.
Amorim has since gone on record to say he regrets making the statement, but has since gone on to make more, which could also be lumped into the same category of unnecessarily controversial remarks regarding the squad.
Eriksen slams Amorim for labelling side ‘maybe the worst’ in United’s history
In January, following a 3-1 loss to Brighton, Amorim labelled his squad ‘maybe the worst’ in the entire history of Manchester United, as well as turning criticism on himself and admitting he was embarrassed by the underwhelming form since he had taken over.
Speaking to The Times, Eriksen explained how the dressing room reacted to Amorim’s claims and why it hurt the team atmosphere after.
“That didn’t help. I don’t think that helped the players at all. Some stuff you can say inside and it’s not too clever to say outside, to put extra pressure and put an extra label on the players who were already trying to do their best.”
“I don’t think that helped at all, no. Then if he’s right or wrong, whatever, but I think for us it was a bit like, ‘Oh, here we go again. Another headline.”
The Danish international also added why he thought there wasn’t instant success upon the Portuguese coach’s arrival, ” Yeah, he came in with his ideas. He tried to change things, as you still see, tried to get it his way. Certain players for certain positions, for a certain style of play, that’s how he sees success.
He has to change a lot because the players were not used to that system. Also, historically, United always liked a different system.”
Rash comments and an overhaul of ideas may have been the key reasons for Amorim’s poor start to life at Old Trafford, but with the club in a better position this year, it will be interesting to see if Amorim has learnt from his previous mistakes.
Eriksen admits his time at Old Trafford was ‘special’
Although he acted as a transition player, who brought experience and stability to the dressing room and was never going to become a cornerstone of the side, Eriksen admitted his time at Manchester United meant a lot to him.
“It was very special for me, I had a very, very good time at United. It was a big win to be able to come back, to prove myself at Brentford after what happened at the Euros, and then to get the chance to play at United was amazing and something I’m definitely proud of, to play as much as I did.”
Read More: Man Utd 1-0 Newcastle: Five things learned as Rúben Amorim has unlocked a gem (Premier League)
The Dane’s enjoyment of his brief spell in Manchester shows how important players find it to play for United and why it is still such an attractive outfit for younger and more experienced players.
Eriksen’s spell for the Red Devils may not be the most memorable, but his experience undoubtedly helped the youth of the squad, giving them a complete professional to look up to and a role model whom they could get advice from.
Make sure to follow UtdDistrict on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to never miss out on any of our Manchester United content. Our podcast, What the Devil?, is streamed live every Thursday at 12:30 pm (BST) on the United View YouTube channel.