Manchester United have had a mixed season so far, losing three games, winning five and drawing their last game against Newcastle United.
It seems very much like a work in progress for Erik Ten Hag. He has the side of him playing decently and it seems that the players are slowly accepting his methods.
There were morale-boosting wins against arch-rivals Liverpool and league leaders Arsenal along with heavy thrashings against Manchester City and Brentford.
ETH methods differ from Solskjaer’s
One thing the Dutch manager has done well so far is his handling of egos in the locker room, which has helped rekindle the fire in their stomachs.
I love how Luke Shaw says it’s a good thing Ten Hag leaves you if you’re underperforming, he admits he was poor at the start of the season and has been inconsistent and now he needs to work hard and prove himself.
That’s the mindset you need… No excuses, just prove yourself on the pitch.#mufc
— Alice Abrahams (@AliceTalksFooty) October 18, 2022
When Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was in charge, there seemed to be an inevitability regarding the staff that would be involved in a game.
Too often, underperforming players were kept in the lineup, which ultimately led to their dismissal last season. The defense needed to be shaken up and new faces had to be injected into the starting lineup.
Recently, Eric Bailly had raised some pertinent points, but he chose to take a nasty angle that was opposed by many pundits. But his initial point of the Norwegian keeping faith in stars like Harry Maguire ended up costing him his job.
That has been one of the most refreshing changes since Ten Hag took over. He has not hesitated to drop even the biggest players as last season’s top scorer and United legend Cristiano Ronaldo will testify.
Players like Maguire, Ronaldo, Luke Shaw, Jadon Sancho and even new recruit Casemiro have found themselves in and out of the squad if their performance levels have not been to the manager’s liking.
And that has also given results. Substitutes have scored in four games and the streak could have been extended to a fifth had Marcus Rashford not missed a nanny late against Newcastle.
And Shaw, who lost his place after the first two games against Tyrell Malacia, has returned to his best form and is showing that he was the star of the last European Championship.
Shaw credits ETH for the change
“The good thing about this coach, this coach, is that if you’re not playing well, you don’t play. In the past, that hasn’t been the case, but I think the good thing about this coach is that he keeps everyone on their toes.
“He makes sure everyone is 100% every day. If you don’t, you won’t play. That’s a positive thing,” the English defender was quoted as saying by The Manchester Evening News.
He admitted that Ten Hag quitting him actually helped him get better.
“To be honest, I really didn’t need him to tell me anything. I knew. I knew the first two games weren’t good enough. I fully understood that it was my time to leave the team. The results were bad. My performances were not good enough.”
The arrival of Malacia seems to have reinvigorated the full-back, just as the arrival of Alex Telles brought out the best in the 27-year-old.
And the England international is hoping to continue in the same way that his new boss, Ten Hag, is not one to think twice about letting down even the biggest superstars.
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