Six former Man Utd players on the one issue Ten Hag needs to fix

Now that we know Erik ten Hag is staying as Manchester United manager, what is the biggest issue for him to prioritise?

The Athletic spoke to six former United players in Malta, all gathered there to celebrate the 65th anniversary of United’s oldest supporters’ club, the Malta branch.

Here’s what they said was their former team’s biggest problem and how they would go about fixing it…

Lee Sharpe: Injuries

“You can say that the squad needs players in this position or that position, but if the squad hadn’t suffered as much with injuries, the situation would have been very different. These have been long-term injuries to key players, not short niggly injuries.

“Nobody wants to be injured. It’s the worst thing for a player — and I speak from experience, having done my anterior cruciate ligament. Yes, injuries are part of football, but why so many at one club? Is it bad luck? Is it because of the way they train or play? The pre-season? It can’t be the number of games because when I played we had just as many games and far fewer injuries.

“You simply can’t be competitive with half the squad missing. When I played, we didn’t have huge squads and just two or three subs, but missing players affects the squad beyond just missing them on the pitch. When you’re injured, you barely see your team-mates. You’re in before them for treatment, then you go to the gym while they get treatment before training. You’re on a different schedule to them, so the squad misses key characters on the pitch, when travelling to games and in the dressing room. And that affects the mood for everyone.”

Jaap Stam: Recruitment

“It’s difficult to see from the outside — you’re always guessing a bit — but look at the players coming in — do they really fit the manager’s philosophy? Do they have the quality to play for United, a club that has spent money?

“And because it’s United, everybody expects a lot, especially for players who’ve cost a lot. Maybe that’s not always fair, but new players need to make a difference, as has happened at Manchester City. The Premier League is totally different from the other leagues. It’s killing, the Premier League, in terms of the physicality, the intensity, the number of games. It’s a massive difference from the Dutch league where you only have three teams that compete with each other, with the rest of the teams at a lower level. You could compare it with the Championship.

“I’m not saying the Championship is bad but there’s a massive difference to the Premier League; speed, quality, how teams play as a unit — especially at United, where there is a lot of pressure. The people within the club support the players but from the outside, there’s the press, the fans, there’s a lot of pressure and you have to be able to deal with that.

“I look at centre-back and left-back and also at the middle of the park, a player who can play out, who can dribble and go from box to box and who has the quality to play under pressure from the opposition. Up front, you need wingers with pace who can take players on. They have a couple, but they need to add more.

“United need quality. Yes, young players who can grow to a certain level but you need players in there already to help the team — you can’t expect that from youngsters like Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo, though they are playing a lot and with games comes consistency.”

David May: Strikers

“United need another centre-forward. Anthony Martial has gone so we need someone to play alongside Rasmus Hojlund. Probably someone a little more experienced because when you play with two wingers who come inside, they get limited service.

“United’s squad is capable of better things. It’s brilliant news that the manager is staying and it’s good that some players are leaving. We have to trust the people who’ve come in to do their jobs — though I do like Jarrad Branthwaite, who United are linked with. He’s young as well (22 today, Thursday).

“United is about bringing young players through but if you can get a foundation of young kids, like Garnacho (19), Kobbie (19), Hojlund (21), Amad (21), and build on it, I’m optimistic, though I am every year.

“I also know (new technical director) Jason Wilcox well and have done since he was 14. We were youth-team players and apprentices, then young pros at Blackburn. His work ethic always stood out. He studies the game and knows exactly what’s needed for the club. Jason is a great lad, too. He did well at Manchester City, then Southampton.

“He’s got one of the biggest jobs in world football now and with that comes pressure — everyone will expect the team to hit the ground running next season — but it’s a good pressure.”

Danny Simpson: Midfielders

“Look at the midfielders at various Premier League teams. They have legs. Do United? They need a solid box-to-box midfielder who wins the ball back, who leads, who goes alongside Kobbie Mainoo while he’s inexperienced. Get that sorted, a player who goes up and down while the other drops in, the second player in the ‘2’ of the 4-2-3-1, and everything around can make the team work.

“Declan Rice would be ideal but he’s not going to come. It’s the way he recovers the ball, covers the ground, be it in the middle winning second balls or even in full-back areas. Rice now gets forward, too. If you have two midfielders working effectively, you can control the tempo of the game, which United struggled to do last season.

“I like Scott McTominay, but not really in that role. I like him coming on with 25 minutes to go or as a second striker pressing, but United need a player next to Kobbie where you think, ‘Bang, he’s on the team sheet every week’.

Ronny Johnsen: Injuries

“Injuries. Ten Hag said it himself. But what causes all the injuries? Why are so many defenders getting them, especially hamstring injuries? Is that because of the surfaces or the way United play or the way officials act? The team play a high line, the linesmen keep their flags down so defenders have to turn quickly and sprint back. All of these could affect the way the team plays.

“As a defender who had hamstring injuries, you become wary of sprinting because you know that, if your hamstring goes again, you’re out for four to five weeks. So you’re cautious, you change. I’m sure the manager and the new people in charge will be looking deep into this and if it gets sorted then I’ll be more encouraged.

“I was pleased that Erik ten Hag kept his job. The players looked like they wanted the FA Cup and played for themselves and their manager. We’ve not always seen that flair or spirit in the team that we saw against City. Everyone was tracking back, trying to win the one-on-ones and they got the result, which was deserved. I hope Manchester United build on what we saw that day — and that the injuries are reduced.”

Danny Webber: Strikers

“The striking options. Hojlund is the out-and-out No 9, but you need competition. Martial has left, Rashford doesn’t favour playing through the middle. If the team wants to be title contenders then you need options beyond a sticking plaster if Hojlund is injured.

“The new striker needs pace and should be able to run in behind. We saw how devastating that can be in the FA Cup final with Garnacho and Rashford coming in behind, but if both wingers are coming and coming short, you also need the option of your striker going in behind the No 9.

“A player like Ollie Watkins would be right: knows the league, experienced, amazing attitude, a humble way of learning right from being at Exeter where he was asked to play wide. But he’s just signed a new deal at Aston Villa and they wouldn’t want to sell him.”

(Top photo: Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)

Andy Mitten is a journalist and author. He founded the best-selling United We Stand fanzine as a 15-year-old. A journalism graduate, he’s interviewed over 500 famous footballers past and present. His work has taken him to over 100 countries, writing about football from Israel to Iran, Brazil to Barbados. Born and bred in Manchester, he divides his time between his city of birth and Barcelona, Spain. Follow Andy on Twitter @andymitten