Erik ten Hag has backtracked on his appraisal of Manchester United’s performance against Coventry, admitting that his team “fell below the standards” he expected.
United defeated Coventry 4-2 on penalties in the FA Cup semi-finals on Sunday, after a spectacular 3-3 draw in which they gave up a 3-0 lead. The Championship side forced extra time by exploiting a disintegrating defense and came within inches of winning in the 121st minute when Victor Torp’s goal was ruled out for offside.
Despite the weak performance, Ten Hag was overjoyed that his club had advanced to the FA Cup final for the second consecutive season, and he dismissed the criticism leveled at his players. When asked whether the performance was humiliating, he went on a heated tirade, describing some of the unfavorable comments as “a shame.”
However, in the United programme for the home game against Sheffield United on Wednesday night, he adopted a quite different tone. “What counts most in football is winning, but it was evident that the way we won fell short of the criteria we set for ourselves,” he wrote. “When you’re in that situation, you just can’t let your opponent back into the game.”
According to the latest report, Ten Hag is eager to keep the fans on his side as speculation over his future at the club grows. Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Avram Glazer were both there at Wembley Stadium to witness United squeak past Coventry, and the INEOS chief has been busy acquiring new players to fill key roles at the club.
Ten Hag shown his furious side earlier this week when asked whether he understood the bad response to the Coventry performance. “No. “Absolutely not,” he said. “You earned plenty, but one of the queries was, ‘Is it embarrassing?’ No, your response was humiliating.
“It’s the remarks. Top football is about results; we got it to the final and earned it, not only for this game but also for the others. We lost control for 20 minutes and had horrible luck when it ended 3-2 and then 3-3. Ultimately, we were quite fortunate. Penalties were extremely excellent, and we got it to the final, which is a tremendous accomplishment. Twice in two years is fantastic. For me as a manager, four cup finals in four years. The remarks are disgraceful.
