‘I felt with Man United there was always a lot of noise’- Thomas Tuchel sympathises with under-pressure Ten Hag

PREMIER LEAGUE ‘I felt with Man United there was always a lot of noise’- Thomas Tuchel sympathises with under-pressure Ten Hag

Mark Kinyanjui 14:34 - 21.09.2023

Tuchel is sympathetic to Eric Ten Hag after Manchester United’s indifferent start to the 2023-2024 season.

Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel is sympathetic to Erik ten Hag after Manchester United’s slow start to the new season.

The Red Devils’ Champions League 4-3 defeat at Bayern Munich had an air of inevitability about it, not least because United had a full team of injured players watching on from Manchester. But it was their third straight defeat across all competitions and a fourth in five games.

"Your start to the season doesn't say much," Tuchel said of United earlier this week. "They were never really out of the game against Brighton either. They have a lot of individual quality and are extremely dangerous," he added.

"I felt with Man United there was always a lot of noise, a lot of pundits are ex-players from Man United, you have this legacy from Sir Alex Ferguson, which creates a lot of pressure. It tells you you work at a big club, big expectations."

Tuchel’s sympathy is warranted, as Manchester United are the most scrutinized team on all platforms, be it online, in newspapers, or broadcast.

Club legends Gary Neville and Roy Keane are on Sky Sports every weekend giving their opinion on the club, Rio Ferdinand and Paul Scholes the same for TNT Sports. Peter Schmeichel, Owen Hargreaves, Michael Owen, and many more are also appearing regularly.

The club’s criticism is down in part to their poor form. It is interesting to note that Arsenal lost three of their first four in 2021/2022 but very few pundits batted an eyelid.

Erik ten Hag was asked after the loss at home to Brighton on Saturday whether his side were in crisis, to which he was defiant in insisting they were not.

“We have to be very disappointed and annoyed at ourselves. We will turn this around. But there is a demand on us to win games."

“Definitely that is something that bothers me [form] but also I have to see the way we play [which was good] but it’s about character. Now we have to see how strong we are and how the team sticks together.”

United lost 4-3 to Bayern Munich in their opening Champions League clash of the 2023/2024 season.