Former Manchester United coach, Rene Meulensteen, has voiced his concerns regarding the poor performance of the team under Erik ten Hag’s management in the new season.
United currently finds themselves in tenth place in the Premier League and at the bottom of their Champions League group, having suffered six defeats in 11 games across all competitions.
Rene Meulensteen, who was part of Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United coaching staff, believes Erik ten Hag needs to take responsibility for their recent struggles
Meulensteen, who spent six years working alongside Sir Alex Ferguson, places the blame squarely on Ten Hag due to the considerable investment in new players, exceeding £400 million since his appointment.
Among the high-profile signings are players like Andre Onana, Lisandro Martinez, and Antony, whom Ten Hag previously worked with at Ajax. Only Chelsea has outspent United in player acquisitions in the same timeframe.
Meulensteen explained, “He has brought in all the players and cannot say that he has not been supported. He has indicated that he is happy with this. He gets a lot of credit from the fans. I understand that. But these are not players who were brought in by the Glazers and are now on the field. The responsibility of the players who are now on the field is really up to Erik.”
Ten Hag has not done its job well at the present time
Meulensteen also highlighted that players like Raphael Varane and Casemiro struggle to adapt to Ten Hag’s style of play.
He further noted, “United have certain shortcomings. [Varane] cannot handle the pace. The Premier League is dynamic. Everything goes at 100 kilometers per hour. That is the big problem in midfield. They have no energy, and that is how the defense gets into trouble. He [Ten Hag] wants to put a lot of pressure on, with a lot of intensity. Just like at Ajax. But he doesn’t have the players for that.
The players don’t have the mentality to constantly put pressure on. Casemiro, for example, can’t handle it at all. Ten Hag has a certain conviction about how he wants to play. But he has to find ways to get there.”
In their recent match against Brentford, Manchester United narrowly avoided a third consecutive loss with two stoppage-time goals from substitute Scott McTominay.
Mctominay helped Ten Hag avoid a clear loss
Ten Hag expressed his displeasure with his team’s defensive performance, stating,
“When you give a goal away so easily – you can’t do that at our level, we have to do better. More of them have to take more responsibility, they have to be accountable; otherwise, it’s difficult to win games. Opponents will benefit from it. But then we had the personality and character to come back.
We made our own luck, and this can be a turning point, but we know we have to change and reset. This must be the turning point. This reflects our season so far from the start of a game.”
