Former Red Devils coach Benni McCarthy believes Erik ten Hag lacks the ‘passion’ to manage a team like Manchester United.

The former first-team coach, who left Old Trafford in June, has given an analysis on the character of Ten Hag – who is under increasing pressure after enduring a poor start to the 2024/25 campaign. His latest defeat, a 3-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur, has raised questions as to whether the Dutchman is the best person to lead United.

McCarthy, however, thinks it’s Ten Hag’s lack of desire and passion that fails to bring him results.

“I didn’t see in him that passion I speak of,” he told ZEROZERO. “He has a different personality, a different profile. I think that was one of the difficulties that the team and the players encountered.

“I want to be a reflection of my players. I want them to have the same mentality, the same ambition, the same attitude and the same culture that I grew up in. For me, training is like being in an official match. When I was a footballer, I hated losing when I was training.

“That was and still is my personality. I have become more and more competitive and even more so since I became a coach. I think it is healthy for my teams.”

McCarthy also took the time to sing Bruno Fernandes’ praises, claiming that the captain belongs alongside the world’s best.

“Bruno is part of the world’s elite and has the ability to play for Real Madrid. That’s how special he is. He loves his daily work and has that passion I was talking about. Bruno lives by that plan day after day, with passion and hard training. Diogo [Dalot] is the same.

“If some of the Manchester United players had what Bruno and Diogo have, it would have been easier to achieve good results. They both trained with incredible concentration, giving everything they had. Some of the others didn’t do the same.

“This ended up limiting the United team’s progress, because some players weren’t training to the best of their ability. Even in games, the data showed us that some players were at their peak performance and others a little below.”

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