Manchester United and under-pressure boss Erik den Haag are preparing to face Everton this weekend.
Manchester United will try to put their derby defeat behind them against Everton in the Premier League on Saturday.
This weekend will be a crucial one for Erik ten Haag, as the pressure will mount around him. The arrival of Sir Jim Radcliffe as co-owner has prompted major changes behind the scenes, with his INEOS team looking to hire key personnel to join Omar Berrada as chief executive.
Behind the scenes, United are looking to recruit Newcastle's Dan Ashworth, Crystal Palace's Dougie Freedman and Southampton's Jason Wilcox into key roles. On the pitch, United are sixth in the Premier League, 11 points off the top four and have lost 11 of their 27 matches.
Den Haag knows his future as manager is in jeopardy and some of his own players think he is about to be sacked. News moves fast at Old Trafford so allow it Glass football To give you a comprehensive round-up of the latest.
Solskjaer talks about leaks
Former United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has given an insight into the state of the dressing room at Old Trafford. The Norwegian spoke about the difficulties of man management and explained why players leak confidential information to the press when they are unhappy.
„I realized we have a good relationship with the players, but there's always one or two people in a team who are unhappy and let things leak,” Solskjaer said on the Stick to Football podcast. „Being a manager, you play a game Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday, you take about 14 players off every game and the next morning you have to tell them they have another chance.
„There's only so much you can say, 'I'm going to give you that game, you have a chance.' Eventually, they get tired and we had a bigger team with more players. If you have more players, they're not happy.”
Relations with Rashford soured
Marcus Rashford's ill-advised night in Belfast had a knock-on effect with some of his team-mates. Rashford went on a tequila-fueled 12-hour binge in the Northern Ireland capital in January and then missed United's game against Newport in the FA Cup.
He was re-integrated into Den Haag's squad, but the forward's stunning goal against Manchester City at the weekend damaged relations with his team-mates. He has a professional working relationship with Den Haag, but some of his colleagues are frustrated.
Despite his goals in the derby, Rashford has just six goals and six assists in 33 appearances in all competitions this season – falling short of his record 30-goal 11-assist effort in 2022/23.
Radcliffe wields an axe
INEOS chairman Radcliffe may be a United fan, but he still bought the club for business reasons. A petrochemicals billionaire plans to cut costs at the club, with a quarter of jobs at risk.
Radcliffe has had his sporting chairman and right-hand man, Sir Dave Brailsford, undertake an audit of United and believes he can put things in order at the club. United currently employ around 1,200 staff – significantly more than their rivals Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal, who all employ fewer than 1,000.
He will ask his advisers to focus on improving United's business, commercial and matchday sectors. He has previously outlined his belief that United are a sleeping giant who are underperforming on and off the pitch.
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