Manchester United has barred several high-profile journalists from attending Erik ten Hag’s news conference on Tuesday. Sky Sports, The Mirror, the MEN, and ESPN reporters have been banned after reporting on his players’ lack of trust in the manager. The Premier League team, on the other hand, claims it is ‘for not contacting us first’.
United said it has ‘taken action against several news organisations not for publishing stories we don’t like, but for doing so without contacting us first to give us the opportunity to comment, challenge or contextualise’.
Sky Sports main reporter Kaveh Solekhol, Manchester Evening News chief Manchester United journalist Samuel Luckhurst, The Mirror’s David McDonnell, and ESPN’s Rob Dawson have all been barred from attending this afternoon’s press conference, according to the Daily Mail. The MEN reports the order came from United’s communications director, Andrew Ward, in response to their coverage of the club’s terrible start to the current season.
‘We believe this is an important principle to defend and we hope it can lead to a re-set in the way we work together,’ the club added.
Ten Hag under scrutiny following Manchester United’s run:
Ten Hag is under additional scrutiny following his poor performance at Newcastle on Saturday. They lost their tenth defeat of the season, causing division in the locker room.
The 53-year-old sorely has to recover from Newcastle’s home defeats to Chelsea on Wednesday and Bournemouth on Saturday, as there is increasing unhappiness in the camp. United fans, on the other hand, are loyal to the manager and want to show their support for him when they face the Blues tomorrow night.
Eric ten Hag’s mentality and tactics are being questioned by a number of experienced players. Some say they have been over-trained this season, while others believe the boss is too autocratic.
Senior players have been astounded by the Dutch manager’s signings. Rasmus Hojlund (Denmark) is worth £72 million, Mason Mount (60 million), and Antony (Ajax) is worth £82 million.
