Erik ten Hag ‘lacks fire and PASSION’, claims his former Man United coach who names just TWO stars who trained with ‘everything they had’ during his time at Carrington

Former Manchester United assistant Benni McCarthy believes Erik Tehn Hag is missing ‘a bit of that fire, that passion’ in a stunning claim.

McCarthy was part of Ten Hag’s coaching staff for two seasons, but left the Red Devils before the 2024-2025 season as he pursued a return to a managerial career.

In that time, United won two trophies but set an all-time low with their performances in the league.

McCarthy was asked by Portuguese publication ZEROZERO why United have struggled to be more competitive in games.

The 46-year-old’s reaction was telling.

Ten Hag has been accused by former assistant Benni McCarthy of lacking ‘fire’ and ‘passion’

The South African worked under Ten Hag for two seasons, but left the club this summer

Ten Hag has come under increasing pressure after the heavy 3-0 defeat against Tottenham last Sunday

‘In modern football I believe that players have a… little bit more passion in their coach,” McCarthy said.

‘They need to feel that the coach is with them and is willing to fight alongside them.

‘Tactically I have the feeling that Erik is at the top. He’s missing a bit of that fire, that passion.

“That’s where we differ, he and I.”

McCarthy was also critical of the players’ application in training during his time at United.

The South African singled out two players for praise and felt that if the rest of the squad had trained as hard as they did, the results might have been better.

“If some of the Manchester United players had what Bruno (Fernandes) and Diogo (Dalot) have, it would have been easier to get good results,” McCarthy said.

‘They both trained with incredible concentration and gave everything they had. Some others did not do the same.

McCarthy also took aim at the players’ lack of effort during training at Carrington

The former assistant singled out Bruno Fernandes for the amount of effort he puts into training

McCarthy also had kind words for Diogo Dalot and his hard work during training sessions

‘This ultimately limited United’s progress as some players did not train optimally. Even in games, the data showed us that some players were performing at their peak and others were performing slightly below that.”

Ten Hag’s future as United boss has come under scrutiny following a dismal 3-0 defeat at home to Tottenham on Sunday, with club legend Gary Neville calling the defeat ‘disgusting’ and ‘an absolute disgrace’.

Should United choose to sack Ten Hag, it could reportedly cost them £17.5million per goal, with the club handing the Dutchman a contract extension in the summer after he survived an internal review.

Former Lazio boss Simone Inzaghi has been mooted as a potential replacement, while ex-England boss Gareth Southgate continues to be linked with the post.