Erik ten Hag explains ‘strict’ Man Utd discipline amid Jadon Sancho spat

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has said the club asked him to take a firm stance with his players amid his fallout with Jadon Sancho.

The manager refused to give more details on his disagreement with Sancho, who is training separately from the rest of the squad after firing back at Ten Hag’s criticism of his performances in training.

However, he said he had to adopt a strict regime with players after standards were allowed to slip under his predecessors.

“Strict lines is what the club asked me because there was no good culture before last season so to set good standards, that is what I did and it is my job to control the standards,” Ten Hag told a press conference on Friday.

“It is never someone makes one mistake, it is a whole process before you come to a certain outcome about strict lines. There is a structure to cross lines so you have to be strong.”

Ten Hag is without Sancho as well as Antony for the next few games. The Brazilian was given a leave of absence from training and matches while he deals with accusations of assault against him by multiple women.

Ten Hag said the winger was “upset” about the situation but was ok, although he said he had “no idea” when he will return. “You have sometimes setbacks in seasons, players are injured or for other reasons are not available so you construct a squad and the squad is very good and the players who are available and motivated to give a good performance.”

United resume their Premier League campaign at home to high-flying Brighton on Saturday