Ex-Man Utd assistant reveals Ten Hag lacks two things amid training admission – ‘where we differ’

Former Manchester United coach Benni McCarthy has revealed two things Erik ten Hag lacks, while he claims poor effort in training “limited their progress”.

McCarthy joined Man Utd ahead of the 2022/23 campaign as he became Ten Hag ‘ s first-team coach.

The former Premier League striker was a victim of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s overhaul at Old Trafford as he left the Premier League giants in the summer, while Ruud van Nistelrooy arrived as Ten Hag’s new assistant.

Without McCarthy, the Red Devils have made a shocking start to the new season as they have lost three of their opening six Premier League games.

Ten Hag is the current favourite to be the first Premier League manager sacked this season and McCarthy has commented on his former Man Utd colleague.

McCarthy claims Ten Hag lacks two qualities, while a key Man Utd pair set the standard for other teammates in training.

“In modern football, I believe that players want to see a bit more passion in their coach. They need to feel that the coach is with them and willing to fight alongside them,” McCarthy said.

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“Tactically, I feel that Erik is at the top. He lacks a bit of that fire, that passion. That’s where we differ, him and I.”

He added: “If some of the Manchester United players had what Bruno (Fernandes) and Diogo (Dalot) have, it would have been easier to achieve good results.

“They both trained with incredible concentration, giving everything they had. Some of the others didn’t do the same.

“This ended up limiting United’s progress, because some players weren’t training to the best of their ability. Even in games, the data showed us that some players were at their peak performance and others a little below.”

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In a recent interview, McCarthy revealed his management plans as his “passion for wanting to be a head coach” has been “brewed again”.

“I think that the passion for wanting to be a head coach again brewed through. And I think that is the next step for me,” McCarthy said.

“With the knowledge that I’ve gained, it would be amazing to manage a team on the continent [in Africa] and then try to make them reach a final when you play in the Club World Cup.

“That would be the aim to do that or even the MLS, that interests me a lot. Opportunities like that I would be welcome because I think I’ve got what it takes to manage that and make players better and to help teams achieve goals that they’ve maybe not achieved in the last few years with the clubs. It’s just about getting the opportunity.”