Flat mood around Manchester United continues with players frustrated at off-field issues – Man United News And Transfer News

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Manchester United’s turbulent first half of the new season has seen them dumped out of the Champions League and Carabao Cup as well as playing catch up in the race for the top four.

After an excellent first campaign which included the much-maligned Glazer family seemingly putting the club up for sale, Erik ten Hag would have been forgiven for thinking things were on the up at Old Trafford.

However, over a year on from the announcement of United being on the market, the American owners are still very much in situ and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s 25% stake in the club will only serve to keep them so.

With the opportunity of a full sale open to the Glazers, fans were optimistic of a new dawn at the club which would have no doubt injected a new lease of life into the players.

But again, fans have been let down and the mood in and around Old Trafford is still low given the performances on the pitch coupled with the uncertainty off it.

The Athletic report on the sombre mood around Carrington with players dismayed at the lack of direction and ambition from the hierarchy in particular.

“Players appreciate the issues are wider than the manager. One senior player, for instance, is said to be disappointed at United’s summer recruitment, having been promised major signings to get United competing for the biggest honours when he spoke with Murtough before joining. Kane would have come into this bracket,” reports Laurie Whitwell.

Despite the players having sympathy for Erik ten Hag, Whitwell says the players are not completely enamoured by his management style with some “frustrated at late changes to schedules, overnight stays in Europe that keep them away from families, and unexpected selections in matches.”

Additionally, Ten Hag’s attention to detail is being met with push-back by first team players due to the length of time spent in meetings.

“Ten Hag and influential assistant Mitchell van der Gaag both approach[] coaching in a didactic manner. Regular meetings going over specific instructions can last an hour,” says Whitwell, who claims the Dutchman “wants players to fully understand tactical requirements. ”

United hired Ten Hag for not just his performance at Ajax, which saw him build two sides that swept all before them domestically and impressed in Europe, but due to his disciplined management style.

Whitwell says United feel this group of players have “taken liberties” under former regimes including with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Jose Mourinho and it’s not something Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INOES consortium will be looking to change.

The chaotic nature of United’s off-field activity over the last decade is now reaching boiling point with the club further away from the Premier League title than ever and having spent a lorry load of cash in the process.

Ratcliffe’s amendments to the sporting structure at the club cannot come soon enough and United players and fans will be hoping for an upturn in mood going into the New Year with an official announcement on the minority takeover expected imminently.