Ex-Sir Alex Ferguson coach demands Erik ten Hag take responsibility for mess at Man Utd

Former Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen believes Erik ten Hag must take responsibility for his side’s struggles this season, with the Red Devils having made a poor start to the new campaign.

United currently sit tenth in the Premier League and bottom of their Champions League group, having suffered six defeats in 11 games across all competitions. And Meulensteen, who was part of Sir Alex Ferguson’s coaching staff for six years, feels the blame lies with Ten Hag due to United forking out over £400m on new players since he took charge.

Among those big-money signings are the likes of Andre Onana, Lisandro Martinez and Antony, whom Ten Hag previously worked with at Ajax, with Chelsea the only Premier League side spending more money on players across the same period. “He has brought in all the players and cannot say that he has not been supported,” Meulensteen told ESPN.

“He has indicated that he is happy with this. He gets a lot of credit from the fans. I understand that. But these are not players who were brought in by the Glazers and are now on the field. The responsibility of the players who are now on the field is really up to Erik.”

Meulensteen also singled out Raphael Varane and Casemiro as two players who simply “can’t handle” Ten Hag’s style of play. He added: “United have certain shortcomings. [Varane] cannot handle the pace.

“The Premier League is dynamic. Everything goes at 100 kilometres per hour. That is the big problem in midfield. They have no energy and that is how the defence gets into trouble. He [Ten Hag] wants to put a lot of pressure on, with a lot of intensity.

“Just like at Ajax. But he doesn’t have the players for that. The players don’t have the mentality to constantly put pressure on. Casemiro, for example, can’t handle it at all. Ten Hag has a certain conviction about how he wants to play. But he has to find ways to get there.”

United needed two stoppage-time goals from substitute Scott McTominay to beat Brentford 2-1 at the weekend and avoid slipping to a third straight loss. And Ten Hag was not happy with his side’s defending after the game, saying: “When you give a goal away so easily – you can’t do that at our level, we have to do better.