July 25, (THEWILL) – A Manchester United player’s repeated lateness to team meetings has resulted in the club’s manager, Erik ten Hag, benching the unnamed player during their preseason tour of Asia and Australia.
Ten Hag is known for being a severe disciplinarian, and last season, one of the major complaints made against United players by their successive past managers has been their poor attitude. It is something the Dutchman is eager to tackle at he shapes up a team that last season performed far below the sum of its individual parts.
Only a few weeks into the job, Ten Hag is already making an impact. He views tardiness as a “symptom of slipping standards” and is unwilling to allow defaulters get a pass.
So far, he has been “very clear” about what he would not tolerate and thinks that unchecked tardiness will “bleed into other aspects of a footballer’s job on the pitch.” He is not seen as being as harsh as Louis van Gaal, who would impose his form of discipline over a brief period of time.
But Ten Hag’s rules have already been broken by one player and although he was not named, the player was scheduled to appear in a tour game but was removed because he frequently arrived late for meetings before the game. It was not just a message to one person; it also made it plain to the rest of the team that the new boss is not willing to make concessions.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
