‘That’s a joke’ - Fiery Erik ten Hag insists Man Utd players still back him despite media reports

Erik ten Hag has insisted he still has the backing of his Manchester United squad, despite reports this week that he is losing control over the dressing room.

The club decided to ban four journalists for Tuesday’s pre-match press conference against Chelsea following various reports on Monday that players have grown frustrated with their manager’s approach, but Ten Hag insisted in the first half of his media briefing that the team is improving and moving forward.

Ten defeats in all competitions at this stage of the season does not make for good reading though, and Tuesday’s decision to exclude the four reporters has only increased the scrutiny and spotlight of a club in crisis. Yet Ten Hag, at least publicly, remains in a defiant mood, and pointed to the Red Devils’ previous wins in the league as proof that the squad remains united.

“Oh yeah,” he replied, when asked if still had the players’ backing. “I know they would have dropped me against Fulham or Burnley if it was the other situation. If the situation was not right, if the environment is not right, and that is not the case.

“When you talk about in your article ‘one source’, that’s a joke,” he continued, in reference to the reports on Monday. “So I won’t reflect on that. Yeah when you play one bad performance you can’t tell the culture is no good. If that was a pattern. Once again last week we played three games, two very good performances, the team was playing good in almost all aspects of football.

“We are in the right direction. I know we will get there where we want to be. Because – see my record. Everywhere where I was, every season, I got my targets. If we stick together, stick to the plan and the strategy, we will get where we want to be.”

Ten Hag isn’t the first United manager in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era to face reports of training ground unrest. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Jose Mourinho and Louis van Gaal also had to deal with such issues, and Ten Hag said criticism is inevitable at United.

“Of course negativity is never good. You have to take care it never kills the energy. But I don’t care because I know, and all the players know, we are the biggest club in the world, then you know you get a lot of attention.

“You know in the moment results are not going your way and you are not performing how you should, there is coming criticism. You have to deal with that. We are together in that. There is no way you are alone there. We are together in that boat. We know that. So we will deal with it in togetherness.”

United could move up to sixth with a win over an inconsistent Chelsea side on Wednesday, even into fifth if there is a 10-goal swing in goal difference with Tottenham Hotspur. The Blues are 10th in the table, five points behind Ten Hag’s side.