Former Manchester United head coach Erik ten Hag has spoken candidly about the impact that criticism from former club legends has on the club and its current players. In the second part of an interview with The Athletic, the first part of which saw him say that Cristiano Ronaldo "let United down" during his second spell at the club, Ten Hag said that pundits who often comment on events at United, sometimes with harsh words, are part of the club's history but "do not always know what's going on."
"It's everywhere the same; they always want to protect their legacies," the ex-Ajax head coach said. "It's no different than Bayern Munich or Ajax; they do the same. But they are [part of United's] history, and they do not always know what's going on. Football evolves." He added: "For United, it's clear: they had great contributions, they achieved massive results, trophies for the club and for themselves, so I respect them."
Former United players from the Sir Alex Ferguson era who regularly comment on the club include Gary Neville, Roy Keane, Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand and Paul Scholes. Neville hosts The Overlap podcast, while Keane is on its permanent panel, and both are regular pundits on Sky Sports. Keane recently labelled the club a "circus" following Lisandro Martínez's outburst against the club hierarchy after a defeat to Atlético Madrid in the Champions League. "It is chaotic there from the top to the bottom," Keane said. In September, Neville branded United's second-half display against Fulham in a 1-1 draw the "worst 15 minutes" he had ever seen a United team play.
Ten Hag said some players become irritated by the commentary from former heroes, but insisted he had a good relationship with the pundits. "I had a very good relationship with them all, with Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand. I did nice interviews with them both, so it didn't hurt me," he said. "They achieved massive successes. But also, they can help the club more, help the players more."
Under Michael Carrick this season, United have won only two of their 10 games across all competitions. They lost to newly promoted Hull on the first day of the Premier League season and failed to beat both Manchester City and Tottenham when both sides were reduced to 10 men.
Source: ESPN Soccer · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing