Man United wouldn’t appear to be the happiest place to work at the moment, with the pressure already on Erik ten Hag to improve on a disastrous 2023/24 campaign.
The Dutchman has overseen a poor start to this season, with the recent victory over Southampton doing nothing to remove the enveloping gloom at the club.
With the Red Devils taking on Barnsley in the Carabao Cup and shortly to begin their Europa League campaign, it’s clear that remaining competitive on all fronts is what’s required.
Erik ten Hag details his expectations of Antony
To that end, the manager needs all of his players pulling in the same direction, including those that aren’t happy with the amount of time they’re getting on the pitch at present.
It’s clear that Antony is aggrieved at being sidelined, however, ten Hag has laid down the law to the wide man, and explained his reasoning.
??? Ten Hag: “Antony is fighting, fighting for his position”.
“That's what we expect from every player who is in the squad at Man United, what they should do”. pic.twitter.com/VllfK4zmWW
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 16, 2024
??? Erik ten Hag: “Antony has to bounce back and he has the ability to do it”.
“If he is doing the right things he can make competition with the young talents we have”. pic.twitter.com/2E8H3us1Ok
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 16, 2024
??? Ten Hag: “Of course Antony is impatient, he wants to play and is fighting to play”.
“We have Amad and Garna who have been very effective, Rashford scoring at the weekend…”.
“Antony has to earn the right in training. The others are doing well so he has to get over them”. pic.twitter.com/5PnaLO4U3O
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 17, 2024
“Antony is fighting, fighting for his position,” he was quoted as saying by CaughtOffside columnist and transfer expert, Fabrizio Romano, on X, formerly Twitter.
“That’s what we expect from every player who is in the squad at Man United, what they should do.
“[…] Antony has to bounce back and he has the ability to do it. If he is doing the right things he can make competition with the young talents we have.
“[…] Of course Antony is impatient, he wants to play and is fighting to play. We have Amad and Garna who have been very effective, Rashford scoring at the weekend… Antony has to earn the right in training. The others are doing well so he has to get over them.”
For a player that arrived as second only to Paul Pogba in terms of transfer spend – £86m according to Goal – Antony has never hit the heights.
Indeed, as transferkmarkt note, in the 83 games he’s played for the club in all competitions, he’s managed just 11 goals and five assists.
Top photo by Ryan Hiscott/Getty Images