Erik ten Hag saw his Man Utd side thrashed 7-0 at the hands of Liverpool – and immediately punished them in the dressing room after their humiliating performance
Erik ten Hag forced his humiliated Manchester United players to sit in silence and listen to Liverpool’s players celebrate their record 7-0 win over their arch rivals.
Ten Hag made his crestfallen United endure Jurgen Klopp’s squad going crazy, listen to Liverpool’s players and fans celebrating in the stadium – and told them to use it as motivation to ensure they never capitulate so meekly again.
United stars including skipper Bruno Fernandes, leading scorer Marcus Rashford and multiple Champions League winners Casemiro and Raphael Varane had to suffer the indignity of hearing the jubilant scenes from the Liverpool dressing-room as Klopp’s men revelled in it.
After putting them through the painful experience, Ten Hag tore into his players for their shameful surrender at Anfield – United’s joint-heaviest defeat ever and their biggest since 1931.
In a move that echoed former United manager Sir Alex Ferguson’s famous hairdryer treatment, Ten Hag laid into his players, telling them they were lucky to be returning back to Manchester on the team bus and not made to travel back with the fuming fans who had paid money and travelled to watch such a pitiful display.
Ten Hag also hauled his players into United’s training complex early yesterday morning, to begin the inquest into the Anfield debacle.
Erik ten Hag saw his Man Utd side humiliated against Liverpool at Anfield ( Image: PA)
The United boss arrived at the Carrington training complex at 7am and was joined by his staff, with the players arriving at 9am to face the consequences of the club’s worst defeat for almost a century.
A United source said: “Ten Hag was obviously furious and told them they were lucky to be getting on the team bus back to Old Trafford and not made to travel back with the fans.
“He warned them all that if anything like that happens again, there won’t be another chance for them and they’ll be put in the Under-21s.”
Ten Hag is also understood to have told his players to expect more sessions with sports psychologist Rainier Koers, who was hired by the United boss a few months ago.
Man Utd suffered their heaviest ever defeat against Liverpool on a grim afternoon ( Image: PA)
The United boss places a huge emphasis on the mental aspect of football and brought in performance psychologist Koers to work with the players after concluding they all needed to possess a stronger mindset.
The United source added: “Ten Hag doesn’t want the players going back to the bad days of last season, so that’s why he wants them to work more with the sports psychologist.”
Ten Hag’s Dutch compatriot Koers was with United at their winter training camp in Cadiz during the World Cup break in December and is understood to visit the training ground a couple of times a week to work with the squad.
Source: mirror.co.uk
