Erik ten Hag admitted players sometimes need a “kick in the a***” to get the best out of them as out-of-sorts Manchester United prepare to face rivals Liverpool.
This has been a challenging second campaign in charge of United for the Dutchman, with defeats in half of their 24 matches in all competitions putting his position under scrutiny.
Lifeless back-to-back defeats to Bournemouth and Bayern Munich did not help his cause, with injury-hit United falling well short of the standards they set last season.
The form of too many high performers has dropped off, with forward Marcus Rashford a prime example having scored 30 club goals last term and just two this season.
Asked what kind of approach he believes would get the best out of the forward, Ten Hag underlined the need to choose the right method for the right player.
“I think any player almost, sometimes it’s arm around the shoulder, sometimes a kick in the a***,” Ten Hag said.
“And then I think that makes a difference in the management, so when are you taking which approach? The kick in the a*** or arm around the shoulder?”
Ten Hag will be hoping United do not receive a collective kick in the backside at bitter rivals Liverpool.
The Red Devils were hammered 7-0 when they last visited Anfield in March and will be dealing with as many as 11 first-team absentees when they return there on Sunday.
“I always have (belief),” Ten Hag said. “When I go to any game, I have the strong belief I am going to win. I will prepare the team in that way – that we are going to win.
“And why? Because it’s based on our rules and principles in the game, and it’s based on our game plan and then a strong belief in the quality of my players.”
Pushed on what he has seen in particular ahead of Liverpool, he said: “I see the quality on the pitch, on the training pitch.
“But the only moment you have to prove it is in the games, isn’t it?
“This team proved this in certain games – when they have been under high pressure, they played very good football.
“But also we have our lows, so high highs and low lows, so we have to as a team get more consistent.”
Ten Hag and his side have under-performed massively after a promising first season, leading to questions about whether he has a long-term future at United.
The Glazers’ dithering and the protracted partial takeover of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s group has led to a state of flux, with the Dutchman saying he has not spoken to Ineos during their recent visits to the club.
“I can’t say anything about it,” Ten Hag said. “There are others in this club who are dealing with the strategic review, so I’m just waiting.
“I’m focusing on my job, which is performing with the team, developing the team.”
Bristol City Women 0-4 Man City Women: Hosts relegated as Fowler double inspires WSL leaders
Mary Fowler scored twice to set WSL leaders Manchester City on their way to a 4-0 rout of Bristol City, who suffered relegation as a result, on Sunday.
With Arsenal having drawn with Everton earlier in the day, Man City knew a victory would be enough to take the title race down to two teams.
That victory duly arrived in emphatic fashion, with all four of Man City's goals arriving in the second half.
Fowler's fantastic strike opened the scoring in the 62nd minute, with the Australia international doubling her tally soon after, paving the way for an Amy Rodgers own goal and Alex Greenwood's late header to seal a huge victory.
Arsenal are now out of the title race, with Chelsea - who have two games in hand on Gareth Taylor's team - the only side capable of catching Man City.
The Robins, meanwhile, will be playing in the second tier again next term.
Data Debrief: Bristol heading down with a whimper
Bristol City have failed to score in their last five games in the WSL, a run of 544 minutes without a goal.
They mustered just 0.09 expected goals (xG) to Man City's 3.4, with the visitors having now kept a clean sheet in nine of their 20 league games this season.
De Rossi demands more from 'tired' Roma ahead of crunch run
Daniele De Rossi acknowledged his Roma team may be tired, but he insisted they must not allow themselves to be embarrassed.
Roma fought back to draw 2-2 with last season's Serie A champions Napoli in a pulsating fixture on Sunday.
Tammy Abraham's late header secured a point for De Rossi's team, who took the lead through Paulo Dybala's penalty before going behind to goals from Matias Olivera and Victor Osimhen.
With Serie A set to have five teams in the Champions League next season, Roma occupy fifth spot with four matches remaining, but sixth-placed Atalanta are just two points behind with a game in hand.
There is also the small matter of a Europa League semi-final against Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen on the cards over the coming weeks, and De Rossi set the stall out.
"We drew, it is not a result to throw away, but it is not the result or the performance that we wanted," Roma coach Daniele De Rossi told Sky Sports Italia.
"At times you can steal the ball off Napoli, but we then gave it back again too many times. Napoli had a lot of chances in the first half, we did better in the second, but we have to do better.
"Look, we are tired, but we cannot start thinking that we’re tired and that means we can be embarrassed in the final few weeks of the season."
Roma host Leverkusen on Thursday before taking on Juventus on May 5, with a crunch clash against Atalanta – who are also into the Europa League semi-finals – set to follow after the away leg against Xabi Alonso's team.
Key to a successful end to the campaign for Roma will be keeping Dybala fit. The Argentine has been involved in the joint-most goals (12) in Serie A since the turn of the year, scoring nine and setting up three, level with Juve's Dusan Vlahovic.
PSG's latest Ligue 1 title arrives as Monaco lose to Lyon
Paris Saint-Germain have been crowned as Ligue 1 champions after Lyon overcame Monaco 3-2 on Sunday.
A 4-1 midweek win over Lorient ensured that one more victory would be enough for Luis Enrique's team to get over the line, but PSG failed to get the job done themselves when they faced relegation-threatened Le Havre on Saturday.
That game was the 700th match of the QSI era at PSG, and the club's 1,900th in France's top flight.
However, PSG's wait to win their third straight title did not last long, as less than 24 hours later, Lyon – who will face the Parisians in the final of the Coupe de France at the end of May – came out on top in a topsy turvy encounter with second-placed Monaco.
Substitute Malick Fofana was the matchwinner for Lyon, and ultimately the player who handed the title to PSG.
Wissam Ben Yedder had put Monaco ahead in the opening minute, but quickfire goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Said Benrahma turned the match on its head before half-time.
Ben Yedder netted his second to restore parity on the hour mark, and thought he had sealed his hat-trick when he volleyed in from a free-kick, only to have strayed offside.
With only a win good enough for Monaco to stay in the fight, the visitors were then caught out in the 84th minute, with Fofana racing onto Lacazette's throughball and finishing calmly.
After a dismal start to the season, relegation looked a real possibility for Lyon, but they are now, with three games remaining, still in with a shout of qualifying for Europe.
PSG on the other hand now have 12 Ligue 1 titles to their name, with 10 of those coming under QSI's ownership. Aside from the COVID-impacted 2019-20 season, five of their last six league titles have been secured before the start of May.
It also means Luis Enrique remains in the running for a treble in his first season at the club, with PSG taking on Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League semi-finals next week.
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