After a humiliating defeat at the hands of Brentford, Erik ten Hag put the Man United squad through their paces with a brutal punishment.
On August 14, the players initially thought they would have a day off. However, following their display down south, the gaffer didn’t feel they deserved it.
Within 35 minutes of the match, the Manchester club found themselves 4-0 down. It was a turn of events that left the travelling contingent bitterly disappointed.
A combination of a David de Gea mistake and several defensive errors allowed Brentford to send the Red Devils home with their tails between their legs. Regrettably, for United supporters, this has become something they’re now accustomed to.
Over the last few seasons, they’ve got used to their side producing sub-standard showings. The Red Devils have conceded four or more goals in a match on seven occasions since the start of last season.
However, it seems as if Ten Hag will not be standing for that. Having won three Eredivisie titles, he only knows how to win. Therefore, in times of trouble, he is deciding not to stand by and watch things get worse. Instead, he’ll fight with everything he has to make things right. That is regardless of how high a mountain he has to climb.
Erik ten Hag gives Man United players a brutal punishment
One particular statistic from the Brentford defeat underlines a critical issue that United currently have – how much they were outworked by their opponents. The Bees ran a considerably further distance throughout the game.
Consequently, according to esteemed journalist Kaveh Solhekol, Ten Hag gave the squad a brutal challenge.
The Sky Sports reporter claimed: “Erik ten Hag wanted to make Manchester United players run 13.8 kilometres (8.5 miles) during their exercises in their extra training session today. Brentford players ran 13.8 kilometres more than them yesterday. Distance covered yesterday: Brentford 109.4km United 95.6km.”
A source told The Manchester Evening News that the players were left “in ruins” after the session.
United fans can now only hope that the potential of going through this again will give them some motivation to give that little bit extra come their game against Liverpool next week.
Featured Image Credit: Getty
