'Fragmented' Man Utd dressing room doubted Ten Hag 'from day one'

Tom Weber

Updated: 4 Nov 2023 11:32 GMT
3 min read

Erik ten Hag, Man Utd, crisis, 2023/24 — © ProShots

Graeme Souness has blasted Erik ten Hag and claimed that Manchester United's players will have doubted the Dutchman from day one.

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The Red Devils boss is facing intense scrutiny after back-to-back 3-0 home losses. Having endured the worst start to a season in decades, many are beginning to doubt Ten Hag's managerial mettle and whether he truly is the man to help Man Utd reclaim their place in the sun.

Liverpool legend Graeme Souness believes that, despite a successful first season in charge at Old Trafford, the Dutchman's conduct and managerial style were always bound to fail at a club like Man Utd.

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"Never in my wildest imagination," Souness wrote in his Daily Mail column, "have I been able to picture Erik ten Hag holding court from the middle of a dressing room, convincing a group of young men with highly inflated opinions of themselves that they are all going places together."

Why is that? Souness blames Ten Hag's "body language, his demeanour, his soft Dutch accent, his ill-fitting suits." Recounting his time as a manager, Souness stresses that "the dressing room is a ruthless place" and that "football players are a cynical bunch."

Doubts from day one

"I find it hard to believe there will not have been some scepticism from day one," asserts the Scot. "Ten Hag has just never jumped out to me as someone capable of saying: ‘Hey lads. We’re all in this together. Let’s roll our sleeves up and deal with everything that comes our way.’"

The Red Devils' dressing room is "fragmented" and "players are all looking at each other for help now" but he does not believe that Ten Hag is the man capable of offering that help, citing his lack of a c.v.

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Souness, who won league titles with Rangers in the late 1980s, claims that Ten Hag does not have the reputation of someone who can command respect at a club like Man Utd, having coached Bayern's reserves, Utrecht and Ajax in the "Eredivisie which, with all due respect, is not the strongest of leagues." Ten Hag, Souness concludes, "is now entering every game on a wing and a prayer."