Man Utd: Erik ten Hag speaks out on spat with Antony Martial
Jacque Talbot
- 3 Dec 2023 06:00 CST
- 3 min read
Erik ten Hag has spoken out amid his spat with Anthony Martial during the first-half of Newcastle's 1-0 win over Manchester United.
The Magpies were creating chance after chance and this caused Ten Hag to gesticulate on the touchline at Martial, who in turn threw his arms up in the air.
Rasmus Hojlund was instructed to warm up and but Martial came out for the second half before pulling substituted on 61 minutes, shortly after Anthony Gordon bagged the only goal of the game.
Ten Hag was quizzed about his interaction with Martial and whether there had been any sort of follow-up.
"It's not about Anthony Martial, it's about the team," the Dutchman replied via MEN. "I try to energise the team and try to get a reaction from the team in this moment.
"As you see, we had a tough period and when you're coaching you are a little more aggressive, so that's normal."
It comes after Man Utd failed to beat Galatasaray despite going ahead by two goals. After their 3-3 draw with the Turkish side, they remain bottom of Group A in the Champions League.
"I will talk with my team about the reasons but we have to do better," Ten Hag said. "And, as I said, I am sure they will pick this up, I am sure they are resilient and they have the character to do this.
"We have seen good performances in the week against Everton and Galatasaray and you always want to play the perfect game every game but you have so many games in a short period you can also have a less good performance. "And now we have to pick this up."
