Aheed Abrar
Erik ten Hag feels players need to “earn the right” to play for Manchester United
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag feels the players need to “earn the right” to play for the Old Trafford side and wear the famous shirt.
The Red Devils lost 3-0 to Sevilla in the second leg of the Europa League quarter-finals and were knocked out of the competition. A number of stars put in underwhelming displays at the Ramon Sanchez Pijuan Stadium.
Speaking to the media via Manchester Evening News, Ten Hag was asked whether certain players were playing for their future. The gaffer gave an answer in the affirmative and also looped himself into the conversation.
“I think we always playing for our future as professional players. Every game is a test, every season is a test, you have to earn the right to wear the shirt. It’s for me as a manager. We are in the same boat.”
The likes of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Scott McTominay, Fred and Jadon Sancho, amongst others, have found game time hard to come by in the current campaign and have been backup options.
Therefore, whenever out-of-favour stars are given opportunities, they need to make the most of them. Alejandro Garnacho is a great example in this case.
The Argentine youngster hardly featured in the Dutch manager’s plans initially. But the 18-year-old took his chances and has been pivotal for the former Ajax head coach in the last few months.
On the other hand, with Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane on the sidelines, Maguire and Lindelof played together after a long time. The England and Sweden internationals were decent against Nottingham Forest.
Unfortunately, our skipper struggled in the loss to Sevilla. The duo of the former Leicester City and Benfica defenders were inconsistent even last season.
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Therefore, Ten Hag is right. Unless one performs at a high level week in, week out, it is difficult to get into a team like United. It remains to be seen who the gaffer feels is worthy of keeping on wearing the shirt next summer.
