Former Manchester United coach Benni McCarthy, who worked under Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford for two years, has had his say on his old boss.
Ten Hag has come under mounting pressure at United after a shocking start to the season with the Red Devils 12th in the Premier League and with a minus-three goal difference.
A 3-0 crushing by Tottenham at Old Trafford felt like a death knell in Ten Hag’s United career.
But he retains the club’s support – for now – with a timeframe established to save his career.
Erik ten Hag has come under pressure at United
Reuters
While many believe Ten Hag is on borrowed time in Manchester, his former employee McCarthy has revealed what is the Dutchman’s biggest weakness – a lack of passion.
Speaking to Portuguese outlet ZEROZERO, McCarthy said: “In modern football, I believe that players want to see a bit more passion in their coach.
“They need to feel that the coach is with them and willing to fight alongside them.
“Tactically, I feel that Erik is at the top. He lacks a bit of that fire, that passion. That’s where we differ, him and I.”
The South African coach was let go by United in the summer after his contract expired following two years in Ten Hag’s backroom staff.
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Many credited Marcus Rashford’s revival down to the former Blackburn and West Ham striker and he went on to insist not enough players care about United.
“If some of the Manchester United players had what Bruno [Fernandes] and Diogo [Dalot] have, it would have been easier to achieve good results,” McCarthy added.
“They both trained with incredible concentration, giving everything they had. Some of the others didn’t do the same.
United have been in poor form this season
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“This ended up limiting United’s progress, because some players weren’t training to the best of their ability.
“Even in games, the data showed us that some players were at their peak performance and others a little below,” he said.
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Erik ten Hag is fighting for his job
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Meanwhile, Ten Hag has insisted he is not worried about the pressure over his position at United.
“We all made the decision to stay together as ownership and a leadership group in the summer,” he said.
“We made the decision from after a clear review what we have to improve as an organisation and how we want to construct a squad.