Erik ten Hag has lost elements of the dressing room at Manchester United, with players questioning his playing style and treatment of Jadon Sancho, according to Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol.
A group of players is becoming disenchanted with the Dutchman after United slumped to an abject 1-0 defeat at Newcastle on Saturday – their 10th loss of the season in all competitions.
One source has claimed Ten Hag has lost 50 per cent of the dressing room, with his refusal to act on concerns voiced by United’s players and the continued exile of Sancho cited as factors.
“We should make it clear that it’s very easy to kick a club when they’re down. It’s easy to kick Erik ten Hag when he’s down. It’s really easy to say he’s lost the dressing room and that the players are not playing for him,” chief reporter Solhekol said.
“My information is that some of the players are confused with what is happening. He has lost elements of the dressing room. One source tells me that he’s lost about 50 per cent of the dressing room.
“Quite a few players are unhappy with the style of play, they also feel that they’re training too hard and that they’re running too much during training. I was told that the players don’t know what they’re running for.
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Gary Neville says he has become bored and tired of watching Manchester United following their poor performances in recent months.
“Also, some senior players have spoken to Erik ten Hag about where they feel the club is going wrong. They’ve spoken to him about their other experiences of playing for big clubs, and they feel that the manager should be a little bit more touchy-feely.
“They feel his man-management could be a little bit better, but Erik ten Hag is the boss and he’s the one who calls the shots. He is not for turning. He is going to do things his way.
“I’ve also been told that a few of the players believe that he is too set in his ways and he’s too robotic.”
Jadon Sancho has not featured for Man Utd since August 26
Ten Hag has also lost support in the United dressing room over the ongoing stand-off with Sancho, who has not featured for the club since August after declaring on social media he has “been a scapegoat for a long time”.
“A few of the players are also unhappy at how Jadon Sancho has been treated,” Solhekol added. “He’s got people in the dressing room who are close to him and he’s been totally frozen out because he’s refused to apologise to Erik ten Hag.
“He’s training with the kids and he’s eating on his own. Quite a few of the players feel like that has gone too far. There’s always unhappy people in a dressing room, but when you’re losing games, there are even more of them.”