It may not quite be ‘the hairdryer’ but Ten Hag isn’t messing about
New manager Erik ten Hag is filling some Manchester United fans with a rare dose of added faith after more footage of his hounding even some of the squad’s youngest players for mistakes in training.
The Dutchman not only seems to have very high standards of his own but it looks as though he also expects a certain level of intensity and quality from the players at his new club, in particular.
One particular clip of him telling youth player Zidane Iqbal to “keep the ball on the floor” and labelling his execution as “f***ing rubbish” has caught the attention of many on social media.
"F*CKING RUBBISH!!" – Erik ten Hag screams at Zidane Iqbal for not doing the right thing in training.
These Man Utd players are in for a real shock 😂pic.twitter.com/pj07Urd8MV
— UF (@UtdFaithfuls) July 21, 2022
Having only made his first-team debut for a cameo back in December 202, the 19-year-old has barely begun to transition into the senior squad and while he has already impressed in his appearances against on the Red Devils 2022 tour, it would seem ten Hag is letting players rest on their laurels or ride out good moments even for one second.
While previous coaches like interim manager Ralf Rangnick and, of course, Jose Mourinho had their own reputations when it came to how they wanted to play and deploying strict standards in both training and on matchday, many United still feel like the club culture has been a far cry away from the days of Sir Alex Ferguson.
That being said, they’ve been lapping this footage up and it’s fair to say that some are already getting a little swept up in the all excitement:
I can't deny I love everything I see about this man. Here the way he looks at the players and the ball, he really knows what he's doing, nothing escapes his watch. He oozes serious business
— ericantona (@_ericantona_) July 21, 2022
Erik ten Hag:
”Keep the ball on the floor… ZIDANE! HEY! Keep the ball! F***ING RUBBISH!!”
This manager is winning us the lot.pic.twitter.com/E0EpE4O5UO
— Jᴀᴄᴋʏ Hᴇɴᴄʜᴍᴀɴ (@JackyHenchman) July 21, 2022
Ive missed a dominant vocal manager, finally we have the one ?
— Sir.Pedersen??? (@Pedersen_Omar) July 21, 2022
He’s even had them doing push-ups as punishment for conceding goals in pre-match training:
I love this man
— 🔴 RED ROCA 🔴 (@RedRoca04) July 11, 2022
He’s been putting on similar displays all pre-season
But by no means are they the only ones to receive the same no-nonsense treatment, however. The 52-year-old was caught screaming at 20-year-old winger Anthony Elanga during United’s second pre-season game against Melbourne Victory for failing to make a run and other players for not being more direct on the counter and in build-up play.
https://twitter.com/TenSlag/status/1548389227318022144?s=20&t=5H2QQ5mN–jRthZ8g0BknQ
Moreover, this week footage of him dishing out similar criticism of Jadon Sancho went viral and he even asked club veteran and four-time POTY award-winner David De Gea “what the f*ck are you doing?” following some decision making he was less than happy with.
Good to see Ten Hag has already nailed the 'you are playing for Manchester United' line https://t.co/xxiAO5gEmx
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) July 19, 2022
On the other hand, he also looks to be spending time on the other side of man management also, with footage of him having what looks to be a calmer yet still constructive chat with youngster Hannibal Mejbri and literally putting his arm around Charlie Savage also appearing online:
Ten Hag spending a little time with Hannibal after and was included what looked like the starting team group. #MUTOUR22 pic.twitter.com/ze3ryH5DtU
— The United Stand (@UnitedStandMUFC) July 21, 2022
Regardless of some fans’ optimism and some promising pre-season performances, it remains to be seen how Man United will shape up when the Premier League kicks off in August.
