Erik ten Hag Joins in Training Drill After Watching Them Play Defensive Football

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Erik ten Hag joined in a training drill on Manchester United’s tour of America when he spotted something he didn’t like – and it sums up his desire to play on the front-foot next season.

The 53-year-old manager, who enjoyed a productive debut campaign at United following his summer move from Ajax, gave us an early insight into his no-nonsense approach ahead of their pre-season opener against Arsenal.

Speaking in a press conference before kick-off, Ten Hag claimed that his team “don’t play friendly” games. Indeed, that statement was soon proven correct, when goals from Bruno Fernandes and Jadon Sancho sealed a 2-0 win.

In fact, goalkeeper Tom Heaton repeated his manager’s thoughts after the full-time whistle, saying: “We don’t play friendly games.”

Ten Hag was desperate for his side to get up to speed ahead of their Premier League opener on August 14, and a story from the club’s final training session in San Diego will give you an insight into his meticulous eye for detail.

As told by The Athletic, a moment involving Antony, Harry Maguire and goalkeeper Andre Onana at the session in San Diego forced the United boss to make an on-field appearance.

Antony was out on the wing but rather than run into the space ahead, the Brazilian turned and passed backwards to Maguire, who then went back again to Onana.

Ten Hag, clearly unimpressed with the passage of play, stopped things ‘immediately’ and asked the players why they had funnelled the ball deeper rather than go forward.

In fact, the Dutchman showed them how he wanted the move to play out. He picked up possession in midfield before passing to Victor Lindelof.

Ten Hag then pushed Maguire forwards so he would be available for the next pass.

“Maguire then moved into position and passed first-time to Jadon Sancho,” Laurie Whitwell writes. “The ball went beyond Antony, who was a decoy. Antony then spun in behind to get the final pass from Sancho and run clear.”

As you can see from a separate clip below, Antony was spotted passing backwards again in the same training session, with some questioning his decision to not run into the space ahead.

United fan Bryce Guzzetta, who watched the session, concluded that Ten Hag wants to imprint “muscle memory” into his players.

“He seemed very focused on people being in the right places at the right time and especially off the ball movement and awareness,” he said. “It was good to get a peek behind the curtain.”

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