Manchester United players ‘blame’ one Erik ten Hag choice for poor season start

Manchester United players reportedly blame Erik ten Hag for their poor start to the season after losing nine of their opening 18 fixtures.

Manchester United currently sit sixth in the Premier League table, bottom of their Champions League group, and are out of the Carabao Cup.

This is a stark contrast to last season which saw them finish third in the league table and win the Carabao Cup, losing narrowly in the FA Cup final to Manchester City, too.

The last campaign brought on a lot of positivity, and Ten Hag reportedly decided to make pre-season a gruelling one in order to turn his team into title contenders.

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This is according to The Guardian, who claim that some senior figures in the squad believe this decision is what has caused the Reds to capitulate from their good form last time out due to the tiredness that the eight-game pre-season brought on.

The report claims that some figures in the dressing room have complained about beginning this season just as tired as they ended last, although none of the players in question have directly aired their concerns to the manager.

Some players have publicly criticised the pre-season, with Christian Eriksen complaining about the number of games after a loss against Borussia Dortmund in Las Vegas.

Ten Hag still believes his players are “fully committed and comprehend the need for sacrifice” in order to make Manchester United successful in the same vein as their cross-town rivals Man City.

The long pre-season is also likely to have been a factor in the club’s injury woes, with Ten Hag having to deal with 17 players having been unavailable at some point in the campaign already.