Man Utd stars ‘weary’ of Ten Hag as manager plays ‘favourites’ and makes Antony ‘compromises’

Manchester United players are reportedly ‘starting to grow weary’ of Erik ten Hag’s criticism as the Dutch boss plays ‘favourites’ in the dressing room.

United have picked up just six points from their opening five Premier League games and fell to a 4-3 defeat to Bayern Munich in their Champions League opener on Wednesday.

After a successful debut campaign in which Ten Hag led United to League Cup glory and third in the Premier League, the former Ajax boss is coming under increasing pressure at Old Trafford.

The squad is currently beset by injuries and other absences, with Antony not considered for selection due to allegations of domestic abuse and Jadon Sancho snubbed due to his public statement against Ten Hag.

And now the Manchester Evening News claim ‘a number of Manchester United players are starting to grow weary of Ten Hag’s criticism’.

They believe ‘Ten Hag has favourites in the squad who he is unprepared to single out for criticism, while they feel others are routinely rounded on by the United manager’.

The report adds: ‘Certain United players also feel they have been put in an invidious position to carry out Ten Hag’s tactical instructions as there is a feeling in the squad that his approach has been compromised by the indefinite absence of Antony.’

Ten Hag has generally avoided publicly singling out players for criticism, but he took issue with how easily Bayern found it to score against his side.

“You have to look in the mirror because the goals were easy giveaways,” Ten Hag said. “We were in the first 25 minutes better in the game than Munich and then that goal, it was so easy and it was not only Andre.

“If you see how easy Sane is going through and that has to do with determination, you don’t let players through so easy. That is the point – we have to cross the line as an individual and as a team to win games because it started there.

“That’s what I mean, you have to suffer, sacrifice in situations, to give everything and to stop that and only when we get that in are we going to win games.

“The way Sane came through can’t be. And the second goal; it’s almost similar over the other side. How easy players come through our box and to finish, it can’t be.”

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