Ten Hag admits big problem Rangnick failed to fix at Man Utd is still present

31 July 2023 , 08:53

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Ten Hag admits big problem Rangnick failed to fix at Man Utd is still present

Manchester United have made great strides under manager Erik ten Hag, but issues that plagued Ralf Rangnick's interim tenure clearly remain a problem.

The German coach lasted just over half a season at Old Trafford and in that time made clear that the players struggled to actually perform as a team. It is for that reason, among a few others, that United failed to qualify for the Champions League come the end of the campaign.

Rangnick made clear when he was given the reins that improving the cohesion and on-pitch chemistry was one of his main priorities, though he undeniably fell short in that aim. "All my efforts for the next six months will be on helping these players fulfil their potential, both individually and, most importantly, as a team," he said back in December 2021.

Rangnick's desire to get United playing like one team rather than 11 individuals is something Ten Hag shares. The Dutchman said as much following the recent 3-2 pre-season friendly defeat at the hands of Borussia Dortmund in Las Vegas.

Ten Hag labelled certain aspects of the performance as "unforgivable". United actually took the lead courtesy of a Diogo Dalot strike but were soon chasing the game when Donyell Malen bagged a brace just before the interval.

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Antony briefly put United back on level terms, but Youssoufa Moukoko netted a winner for Dortmund to leave Ten Hag furious come full-time.

"But the last half an hour, it was bad, a poor performance. They didn't follow the rules at all, not in pressing, not in building up or when attacking. They were 11 individuals on the pitch.

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"That wasn't good at all. I said to the team, I think it was a good tour, but you want to finish with a good performance and there was only 60 minutes that I was pleased with, but not with the goals we conceded because the first one was poor defending and the second one was poor in the build-up."

Ten Hag didn't stop there, going on to send a public reminder to his players that regardless of how high or low the stakes of each game are, the standards remain the same.

"That's not us, we have to keep control, keep responsibility on the ball and it was the same for the 3-2," he added. "That can't happen and it's unforgivable, even if it's a friendly."

Ten Hag has two more friendlies to work his magic and improve United's ability to operate as one team before the Premier League season gets underway. Such is the nature and difficulty of the English top flight, a slow start could prove costly.

Josh O'Brien