Erik Ten Hag tactics have come under scrutiny after leading Manchester United to their worst start to a league season, having opted to rotate many players in recent weeks – leaving stars “puzzled”
Manchester United players have been left stumped by Erik ten Hag’s recent rotation policy – including his decision to sub off Marcus Rashford at half time of their draw against FC Porto.
The Dutchman has come under increasing pressure this season after leading United to their worst start to a league campaign that has seen heavy home defeats to Liverpool and Tottenham – with co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe holding a seven-hour crisis meeting over his future this week.
Ten Hag has overseen back-to-back draws against Porto and Aston Villa though his tactics have come under question – after Jamie Carragher questioned his decision to replace his centre-back pair Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez in Portugal.
United players are also confused by his rotation policy, which has left them “puzzled”, according to the Daily Mail. In the same Porto game, Rashford was taken off at half-time, despite netting the first goal of the game.
It was the latest questionable call over Rashford, who was dropped for the 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace last month after scoring a brace against Barnsley the game prior. He has since started four games in a row.
Ten Hag’s side suffered with huge injury problems last season amid his decision to rotate players early in the season – but the report adds that United stars have been left surprised by his explanation that he is reshuffling the deck because they “look tired”.
Instead, it states that many of the Red Devils want to play as many games as possible to “find their rhythm” and help the team, especially given United’s poor start to the season.
It comes as Ten Hag waits to see if he will remain in charge of the team following just two wins from seven games, leaving his side in 14th place – after his future was top of the agenda during the crisis summit.
Among those in the central London meeting were Ratcliffe, co-owner Joel Glazer, CEO Omar Berrada, sporting director Dan Ashworth, technical director Jason Wilcox and director Sir Dave Brailsford.
Former England boss Gareth Southgate, Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi and former Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel have all been linked with replacing Ten Hag – while his assistant Ruud van Nistelrooy has also been tipped to take the job short term.
Ten Hag is currently on holiday after the start of the international break, with United next playing a home game against Brentford next on October 19 before a trip to Turkey to face old boss Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbache on October 24.
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