Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag reportedly canceled a planned day off for his players and forced them into a humiliating running exercise as the fallout from the shock Brentford defeat continues.
Ten Hag, who oversaw a successful pre-season but has endured a nightmare start in the Premier League, was helpless as he watched his side capitulate at the Brentford Community Stadium.
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It was United’s second straight defeat after the opening day loss to Brentford and consigned the Red Devils to the bottom of the Premier League ladder for the first time in 30 years.
And according to The Telegraph’s Jason Burt, ten Hag was furious with what his team served up against the Bees and ordered his team to come to the club’s training ground for a punishing extra session.
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“With United not playing again until next Monday, at home to Liverpool, ten Hag had intended to allow his squad not to report to their training HQ, Carrington, for a recovery day,” Burt wrote.
“Instead, having told the players that their performance was ‘shocking’ and agreeing with the post-match analysis that they had played ‘like kids’ ten Hag demanded a response with an intense training session which, surprisingly after a game, included an element of running.”
Over the course of 90 minutes, United ran 95.6km as a team while Brentford chalked up 109.4km.
The shocking margin was another element of ten Hag’s brutal punishment, as Burt claims the Dutchman forced his players to cover 13.8km throughout the training session conducted in 30-degree heat, “exactly the distance they collectively ran less than the Brentford players during the game .”
With a clash against bitter rivals Liverpool on the horizon, things could get much, much worse before they get better for ten Hag and Manchester United.
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