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Matthijs de Ligt shares private Erik ten Hag chat as Ruben Amorim Man United issue spotted

Manchester United defender Matthijs de Ligt
-Credit: (Image: Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)


Manchester United are in the early stages of a new era at the club as Ruben Amorim begins work at Carrington during the international break.

The Portuguese head coach has brought with him a wave of positivity from previous club Sporting Lisbon but he will be under no illusion at the task at hand. Amorim has already met some of the first-team squad at Carrington but will have to wait until next week to introduce himself to the entirety of his new players.

In the meantime, some of the squad are still processing and being quizzed about Erik ten Hag with Matthijs de Ligt the latest player to give his reaction. Take a look at what he had to say and more in MEN Sport's latest media watch.

READ MORE: Amorim could unleash £55m signing

READ MORE: Mount's four-word Van Nistelrooy message exposes true United feelings

De Ligt on private Ten Hag talks

In an interview with De Telegraaf, the former Bayern Munich centre-back explained his reaction to Ten Hag's exit. "A dismissal can always be quite hard. We discussed some things," he expressed.

"He brought me to Manchester, the goal was to achieve success together with Erik. He has not been very lucky.

"We played well in many matches, but we did not use the chances we got. It is a shame that it has to end like this."

What MEN Sport says: De Ligt finds himself in an awkward position at United as he was clearly a signing that Ten Hag pushed strongly for. Now he has gone and Amorim is in, it remains to be seen if De Ligt fits the model that the new boss wants to create. His assessment of his time under Ten Hag is diplomatic but what cost the Dutchman his job was certainly not a lack of luck more a failure to show progress throughout his tenure which may seem strange to say with two trophies in the cabinet but in the Premier League, the Reds were way off it more times than not.

Vidic calls out United players as issue for Amorim spotted

Assessing the situation at his old club, Nemanja Vidic told Sky Sports that Ten Hag was not able to complain about not being backed but would not go as far as to say he was right to be sacked. More concerning was his thoughts on the current squad.

"I don't think [having] pressure is bad at Man United, I think you need pressure," he explained. "I think those players definitely need pressure.

"We are all expecting more from them. I was a player and I expect every game, when I came on the pitch, to do well.

"If I didn't do well, I was angry at myself. You should definitely have high expectations of yourself and that is the best quality you can have.

"In the last eight or nine years, the amount of players we have had that have been fantastic players, even now we have some fantastic players, but the question is more whether they have the resilience to compete week in, week out."

What MEN Sport says: As mentioned, Amorim's positivity is contagious at the moment but the fear from United supporters is that he is still having to deal with a squad that many deem to be simply not good enough to be title contenders or even top four challengers. Like Vidic mentions, there are some good players in this United squad but do they have the mentality to churn out consistent performances? So far we have seen little evidence that they can and that is a huge issue for Amorim especially if he cannot make transfers until next summer due to the challenges of January.