I worked with Erik ten Hag at Man United - this is why he overlooked Amad
Former Manchester United coach Benni McCarthy has implied that Erik ten Hag favoured players he signed over Amad while manager at Old Trafford.
McCarthy was brought in by Ten Hag in July 2022 and stayed two years, becoming a popular member of the coaching team. He focused his work with the strikers, meaning he had a good idea of Ten Hag's thought process when selecting his attackers.
Though he had left before the start of this season, McCarthy had observed Amad being overlooked in the last campaign with Antony being given chances time and time again. Such team selections made Ten Hag unpopular with United fans towards the end and he was eventually sacked at the end of October.
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Since then, Ruben Amorim has been hired and is now relying on Amad as an undroppable player, after casting his eye over the entirety of the United squad. Appearing on the Podcast and Chill Network, McCarthy was asked why the Ivorian winger had been overlooked for so long by Ten Hag during his stint in charge.
Explaining, the South African said: "Tactically, when we set up, the manager felt that Antony was the best, better player for the job that he wanted because he knew Antony from Ajax. He was his player, so he invested in him, and the club supported him.
"So, of course, he had to support the player that he bought, I think that’s why he persisted in playing Antony. It’s because he knew the capabilities when Antony was at his best.
"And then you had [Alejandro] Garnacho who was also playing well, scoring goals. [Marcus] Rashford, on any given day, could demolish anyone. And then you’ve got [Rasmus] Hojlund, you spend £70m on bringing him in, so he has to play.
"So someone’s gotta [miss out], and unfortunately for Amad, the manager goes with the player he thinks is probably more capable for, for those type of games tactically, defensively and attacking."
