Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has reportedly launched a ‘major crackdown‘ on dressing room leaks from his squad. Last season and beyond, there was a whole host of information being leaked in the public eye which should not have been getting out.
The Dutchman has told his squad that he will ‘not tolerate any betrayals of confidence from within the supposed sanctuary of the dressing-room’. Cliques and leaks undermined the club last season as United had their worst ever Premier League season.
This ensured that United would miss out on the UEFA Champions League once more after totalling their worst points campaign in the Premier League, which says more about the players than anything else – but there are still people blaming a departed manager for the problems.
United will travel to Thailand on Friday to commence their preseason tour, where they will face Liverpool in Bangkok on Tuesday. They will then travel to Australia where they will face Melbourne Victory, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa before heading back to Europe.
Ten Hag has ‘laid the ground rules‘ to his squad warning that there will be ‘brutal consequences’ for those that did not obey them. It is about time that this happened as United players over the past few seasons have been disrespectful to the club and the paying supporters.
It is stated that players who break Ten Hag’s rules will never play for him again, and presuming they don’t get him sacked, that would mean that much like under Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign as manager, the player will find themselves on the way to an exit from the club.
It is almost like the Dutch manager in going to instil integrity, respect and discipline back into the squad, which has not really shown signs of having either for a good four years, if in fact it was present post-Ferguson at all. The ownership of the club has not helped either.
Ten Hag has also told his squad that players will be dropped if they are late with the manager also changing their diets so they can maintain their fitness levels throughout the course of the season. This is the minimum that would be expected from athletes. Some players may have forgotten?
Leaking to the media became a big problem under the management of Ralf Rangnick, having come through from the end of Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s helm at the club and the hierarchy started an investigation in May, seemingly aiming to put a stop to it. Maybe it will, maybe it won’t.
Written by John Walker
