‘You create a mess’ - Erik ten Hag makes admission about Manchester United squad he inherited

Erik ten Hag has admitted the Manchester United squad he inherited on arrival at the club was lacking discipline and needed some rules laying down.

The squad was considered to be short on spirit after a disastrous 2021/22 campaign, which saw the end of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and a torrid tenure from Ralf Rangnick as interim manager.

Ten Hag officially took over at the end of May but he had already been analysing games and the players at his disposal before taking the reins and he had spotted an absence of discipline in the matches he watched.

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The Dutchman has regularly criticised players if they don't follow his rules in games this season, while some have also fallen foul of his strict disciplinary regime off the pitch.

Alejandro Garnacho didn't feature on the pre-season tour after twice being late, Cristiano Ronaldo was axed from a matchday squad after refusing to come on as a substitute and Marcus Rashford was dropped to the bench when he was late to a team meeting.

Other players have praised the authority in Ten Hag's regimen, but he said he had little choice to change things after the "mess" he inherited. He also feels that offering that structure is actually good for players and that his charges at United have thrived as a result.

“There was (a lack of discipline ) and I don’t have to lie about it," he said. "Top players like structure, not only on the pitch, so you need some rules.

“I think it’s obvious in every organisation that when there are no rules and no discipline in taking those rules seriously, then you create a mess.

“That’s not only at a football club, but also in broadcasting or newspapers. It was quite obvious because I could see on