Erik ten Hag’s brutal Alejandro Garnacho comments show how demanding he is

"His contribution was not good enough."

Erik ten Hag's critical comments on Alejandro Garnacho, despite scoring against Crystal Palace, show just how demanding the Man United manager is. Garnacho was on the scoresheet as United beat Roy Hodgson's men 3-0 last night in the Carabao Cup, with Casemiro and Anthony Martial bagging the other two. It was a much needed victory for the Red Devil's but when asked about the performance of the Argentina teenager, ten Hag wasn't just as full of praise you might expect.

"You have seen at the start of the season we played him and then his contribution was not good enough," manager Ten Hag said of the Argentina international. "But he also had some good actions. You see always he is a threat in the game even when he is not playing that well.

"He has to learn when he does his job in defending he will always have his moment and he will always be decisive because he has great qualities." The Dutchman is a known disciplinarian, as is well documented following his fall-out with Jadon Sancho, who is currently exiled from the first team until he apologises for a social media post he made. It is clear that the United boss is equally as hard on his other players, including the the 19-year-old attacker. "As well, it’s not only off the ball. But I want to see like today, he is entering the box in the right spot to finish. But I think it is quite normal for a player of his age that there is space for a lot of improvement. "Everyone likes him, the fans like him, the team likes him, I like him, but we also have to demand from him and push him because he can act on a very high level but he has to show it every day." Man United play Crystal Palace again this weekend, but in the Premier League, as part of the 3pm kick off. Related links:

• Erik ten Hag gives cold response when asked about Jadon Sancho's future
• Jadon Sancho can learn how to come back from football wilderness from young Irish striker
• Erik ten Hag gives clarity on Jonny Evans'; future after Harry Maguire's transfer collapse