Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag made a 'deep impression' on his players after he joined them on a 8.5 mile (13.8km) run, a day after their embarrassing 4-0 defeat to Brentford.
The Dutch manager was left furious with United's performance at the Gtech Community Stadium on August 13 as first-half goals from Josh Dasilva, Mathias Jensen, Ben Mee and Bryan Mbuemo gifted Thomas Frank's side a memorable win.
After the game, Ten Hag made it clear to his players that they had let everyone associated with the club down.
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In fact, he asked his players to come into training on their planned day off and ordered them to run 13.8 kilometres [8.5 miles] – the difference in distance covered by Brentford during Saturday's Premier League clash.
United players were reportedly left 'infuriated' by Ten Hag's decision, according to The Mirror, but they were soon left in awe after the 52-year-old joined in.
That's right. The former Ajax boss wanted to shoulder some of the blame for Saturday's defeat to Brentford loss by running alongside his players for the entirity of the 8.5-mile run at Carrington.
Ten Hag was reportedly left 'physically shattered' by the experience, but his pain in 33 degree heat made a 'deep impression' on the squad.
A source told The Mirror: “The players were raging when they discovered their punishment for the no-show at Brentford would be an 8.5-mile run. But the moans ceased when it became clear that the manager was planning to do the same as them.
“He didn’t have to tell anyone why. It was clear that he wasn’t going to let his players take all the blame for the performance. Ten Hag also felt he had to show that he also felt culpable. It was a tough run for the players - but it was even more gruelling for Erik - and they were impressed."
Over a week later and Monday's win against Liverpool saw United players run 19km more than they did at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Ten Hag's men recorded a distance of 95.6km against Brentford but that rose to 113.8km against Jurgen Klopp's side.
A coincidence? I think not.
Topics: Manchester United, Erik Ten Hag, Premier League, Brentford, Liverpool
Jack Kenmare