Erik ten Hag admits he is not afraid of using Sir Alex Ferguson’s famous ‘hairdryer’ treatment if it means getting his message across to his Manchester United players.
The Dutchman insists his side must learn how to recover during games when things go wrong after they were humbled 3-0 by Sevilla to crash out of the Europa League.
United capitulated after going behind inside eight minutes to Youssef En-Nesyri’s goal in the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium on Thursday, with captain Harry Maguire’s mistake setting the tone for a miserable night in Andalusia.
“Sometimes yes, I can go strong in certain situations,” Ten Hag responded when asked if he has often referred to being stern with his players in a manner associated with the club’s most decorated manager.
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Erik ten Hag says Manchester United ‘have to do better’ as his side turn their attention to the FA Cup semi-final against Brighton on Sunday after a disappointing Europa League exit
“It’s a tool [to deploy] but it’s about the timing. You need to know when to use it. As a coach, you can pick many communication styles, and this is one of them.
“[On Thursday], you could tell I was really mad. For me, it was so unacceptable. You can make a mistake, but you have to carry on.
“If you play in the quarter-final of the Europa League, you have to give everything and we didn’t.
United made two errors leading directly to an opposition goal for a second time this season against Sevilla
“For any club in my view, that is unacceptable. As a manager, I cannot accept that my team is not giving its best. I would never accept it and the players were made aware of this.
“They didn’t match the standards of a professional team I manage.
“I’ve heard from many experts and the fans that we’ve made progress and developed. We’re a different team now, but we know we have steps to go. That’s quite clear.
For a sixth successive season, United have been eliminated from a European knockout tie by Spanish opposition
“It’s how we deal with setbacks in a game. We have to stick to the plan.”
It capped a wretched collapse for Ten Hag’s team across the tie, having thrown away a 2-0 lead late in the first leg at Old Trafford to place themselves on the back foot ahead of the trip to Spain.
Defeat in Seville was the fourth time in recent weeks that the team has struggled to deal with setbacks, following the first-leg surrender and Premier League defeats to Newcastle and Liverpool, the latter a 7-0 thrashing at Anfield.
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Ten Hag said he was impressed by his players’ ability to bounce back between matches, and while it means little if they cannot learn to recover in the moment, the United boss conceded he has had too many opportunities to stick with a winning formula.
“We’ve not had the opportunity to often play the same team,” added Ten Hag, who will be without the suspended Maguire for Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Brighton.
“We’ve had injuries and suspension in all departments so we’ve not been in a position to often do it.
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Terry Gibson explains how Harry Maguire’s mistake led to Sevilla’s opener in their Europa League quarter-final clash
“When you play a lot of games and the load is getting higher, we need to rotate as you have to keep the players fit and fresh.
“You have to also take decisions based on a tactical approach for the next game, and this is harder when you miss players.
“You have to find solutions and right now we’re looking for the best solution. You have to look short term but of course the longer term as well.”
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The Telegraph’s Jason Burt thinks Manchester United still need a big overhaul of their squad following their 3-0 defeat to Sevilla
United will have a chance to answer their manager’s challenge when they face Brighton in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on Sunday.
It represents the team’s last chance of adding to the Carabao Cup they won in February, after the prospect of a cup treble was extinguished by defeat in Spain.
When pressed on whether he would have rotated his squad more earlier in the season, Ten Hag responded: “We would always look to rotate throughout the season but this year has been a bit crazy with the World Cup in between.
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Terry Gibson reports as Loic Bade’s header sees Sevilla take a 2-0 lead over Manchester United early in the second half of their Europa League clash
“Many of our players were present there, and then we had to play in the Europa League play-off round when we came back.
“I think we’ve played the most games of any team across Europe, but players are until a certain point capable. We have players in the squad who can handle the load of a number of games.
“We have to acknowledge that especially in the front line, we’ve had problems throughout the season. We haven’t had the numbers there.”
Man Utd’s remaining fixtures
April 23: Brighton (N) – FA Cup semi-final, kick-off 3pm
April 27: Tottenham (A) – Premier League, kick-off 8:15pm
April 30: Aston Villa (H) – Premier League, kick-off 2pm
May 4: Brighton (A) – Premier League, kick-off 8pm, live on Sky Sports
May 7: West Ham (A) – Premier League, kick-off 7pm
May 13: Wolves (H) – Premier League, kick-off 3pm
May 20: Bournemouth (A) – Premier League, kick-off 3pm
May 28: Fulham (H) – Premier League, kick-off 4.30pm
TBA: Chelsea (H) – Premier League
