Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has delivered a brutal verdict on United’s players and the state of the team when he first set foot on Old Trafford.
Ten Hag came to United after the 20-time English suffered their worst Premier League season in terms of points.
United finished in sixth place, just enough for a Europa League place, in a disastrous campaign that saw three managers on the bench throughout the season.
After the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Michael Carrick took over before Ralf Rangnick came on board in an interim role until the end of the season.
Since Ten Hag took over, United and the players have shown gradual improvement and the team seems to have turned around.
Ten Hag told Voetbal International via The Daily Mail that he had a lot of work to do by the time he arrived.
He said: “There was no spirit in it (the dressing room), I didn’t see any team dynamics in the squad. The mental toughness was very low.”
“The fighting spirit, for each other, putting the team first, that wasn’t really in this squad. Changing the culture was the most important thing for me.”
Ten Hag praised Casemiro and pointed to the Brazilian as someone who is significantly helping to change the culture at the club and restore a winning mentality.
The Dutch coach commented: “To achieve that (culture change) in the locker room, you need personalities. That is why the purchase of Casemiro was so important. He can speed up the process because he knows what you have to do to win titles”.
The evidence suggests that United fans have a lot to look forward to when Ten Hag turns around the club’s fortunes. It’s no small feat, but he’s done well so far.
The delicate and masterful handling of the Cristiano Ronaldo saga is a good example of how Ten Hag leads change at the club.
