McLaren: Ronaldo Left United Due to Not Meeting Standards, Not Ten Hag’s Fault

Recently, former Manchester United assistant coach McLaren gave an interview to The Telegraph where he spoke about Ten Hag and Ronaldo.

McLaren said: “I can’t find a single fault with Ten Hag’s coaching methods; he handled things very well. I said at the time that he was the right man for the job as Manchester United manager, and this is evident from how he handled Ronaldo’s departure. When Ten Hag took over, he established set standards, set rules, and a set style of play. If you can’t run, you can’t play, and he’s quite rigid in this regard. That’s just how the Dutch are; they know it has to be this way, no room for negotiation, players can’t shirk their responsibilities.”

“That’s what you have to do, otherwise, you won’t play. And he took action against Ronaldo, which was entirely correct. Other coaches tried to adapt, but Ten Hag believed there was no need to do so. Rangnick tried, but it didn’t work out, neither did Solskjaer. So Ten Hag stuck to his principles and developed other players.”

“That’s the key. He’s not afraid to use young players. For instance, the issue of being late for meetings, which is well known. In the match against Wolves, Rashford was a few minutes late for the meeting on the day of the game. Ten Hag benched him. Of course, Ten Hag eventually brought Rashford on, and he scored the winning goal. Such matters are crucial. Discipline is important, standards are important, behavior is important. Everyone knows this is part of the tradition at Manchester United. This is what Ten Hag brings. Some people may not like it, but that’s normal, yet he never wavered. That’s his strength.”