Erik ten Hag has shown himself to be the tough-guy manager that Manchester United needed when he was hired to take charge at the end of their dismal 2022-23 season. But the former Ajax coach is in danger of seeing the football side of his job unravel at Old Trafford.
The 53-year-old said last Friday he inherited a "no-good culture" when he arrived at the club 16 months ago and he has been bold and decisive in attempting to deal with the malaise within the squad. From forcing the players to run eight miles at the training ground as punishment for running eight miles fewer than Brentford in a 4-0 defeat in August 2022 to publicly calling out Cristiano Ronaldo, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho for failing to meet his standards on and off the pitch, Ten Hag has exerted his authority.