Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has reportedly banned three newspapers from asking questions at his Friday press conference ahead of their Premier League clash against Burnley.
Ten Hag, who has come under heavy criticism this season, was far from happy with the reaction to his side’s FA Cup semi-final victory over Coventry City last weekend.
After United reached a second consecutive FA Cup final with a penalty shoot-out win over the Championship side, he said the post-match comments from the media were a “disgrace".
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“Penalties was very good and we made it to the final and that is a huge achievement," he said. "Twice in two years is magnificent. For me as a manager, four cup finals in four years. So the comments from the media are a disgrace."
When asked if he understood the negative reaction to their penalty shoot-out win over Coventry, Ten Hag said: “No. Absolutely not."
Three days later and United went on to secure all three points against struggling Sheffield United but it appears the Dutchman is still unhappy with the nature of the media's reporting following last weekend's clash at Wembley.
In fact, Ten Hag would not hear questions from The Sun, Manchester Evening News and The Mirror in the build-up to Saturday's game against Burnley as a result, according to the Daily Mail.
The report also suggests that a number of journalists who had upset Ten Hag were allowed into his post-match press conference after Wednesday's win over Sheffield United, but were refused the opportunity to question Ten Hag.
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According to the Telegraph, some of the coverage he has taken issue with includes social media posts mid-match while the FA Cup semi-final on Sunday was still being played.
Back in December, after reports emerged that some players had become disillusioned with the manager's tactics and intense training sessions, United decided to ban four outlets from a press conference.
Sky Sports chief reporter Kaveh Solhekhol, the Manchester Evening News' chief Manchester United correspondent Samuel Luckhurst, The Mirror's David McDonnell and Rob Dawson of ESPN were all reportedly blocked from joining.
The Manchester Evening News stated: "A United spokesperson claims the ban has been imposed as the club was not approached for comment on a multiply-sourced story that Ten Hag is losing the confidence of some players over his tactics and signings."
United confirmed the club had "taken action against several news organisations not for publishing stories we don’t like, but for doing so without contacting us first to give us the opportunity to comment, challenge or contextualise".
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They added: "We believe this is an important principle to defend and we hope it can lead to a re-set in the way we work together."
Featured Image Credit: MUTVTopics: Manchester United, Erik Ten Hag, Premier League, Burnley
