Ten Hag believes his side are one of the league’s top entertainers (Picture: Getty)
Erik ten Hag got into an argument with a Dutch journalist as he defended his recent comments claiming Manchester United are ‘one of the most dynamic and entertaining teams’ in the Premier League.
The Red Devils have endured a difficult campaign and their slim hopes of sneaking into the Champions League were ended last weekend after a 1-1 draw at home to relegation-battling Burnley.
But Ten Hag was upbeat about his side’s performance afterwards, saying they were ‘playing good football’ and describing criticism of his team as ‘weird’.
‘We are one of the most dynamic and entertaining teams in the league at this moment,’ Ten Hag told BBC’s Match of the Day.
‘We are creating loads of chances by playing good football. Every team gives up opportunities. But when it is up to us, it is weird.’
Ten Hag’s appraisal of his team was widely mocked afterwards, with 16th-placed Brentford having scored as many goals, and the likes of Alan Shearer and Micah Richards were bemused by the comment.
But, ahead of facing Crystal Palace on Monday night, Ten Hag has now doubled down on his description and clashed with a Dutch journalist who questioned just how entertaining United really are.
Ten Hag sat down with Dutch journalist Koen Weijland (Picture: Viaplay / Twitter)
Asked to clarify exactly what he meant by his previous comment in an interview with Viaplay’s Koen Weijland, Ten Hag snapped back: ‘If you would do your research, you would see in our data that we are very dynamic in terms of attacking play.’
When Weijland then asked what he meant by ‘dynamic’, a clearly irritated Ten Hag replied: ‘I’m just trying to explain that to you.
‘If you did your job, you would see that we are the team that is currently the most attractive and vertical team in the entire Premier League in terms of speed and movement.’
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When Weijland contested that, and suggested the attractiveness of the football was subjective, Ten Hag then asked his interviewer if he had found recent matches against Chelsea and Liverpool attractive to watch – which he said he did.
‘Then we agree,’ continued Ten Hag. ‘We have approached the matches we have played in recent times in an attacking manner, especially for the neutral spectator.
‘We create a lot of chances and we concede a lot. It is open and it is fun to watch.’
United face a number of difficult matches between now and the end of the season as they look to secure European football for next season, with Monday’s visit to Selhurst Park followed by home matches against Arsenal and Newcastle before a trip to Brighton to end the campaign.
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