Man Utd ‘still not that convincing’ with understanding of Ten Hag plan scrutinised; Rooney names key player who was exposed

Manchester United picked up three points by beating Everton in the Saturday lunchtime kick-off but Erik ten Hag still has some issues to solve in getting his gameplan across to his players.

Two penalties were required for Man Utd to get the better of Everton, converted by Bruno Fernandes – who has now scored more spot kicks for the club than anyone else in their history – and Marcus Rashford respectively. It gave Ten Hag his first league win since February 18, putting his side eight points off the top four (before the rest of the weekend’s fixtures).

However, due to the nature of the result, former Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott has wondered whether United’s players understand the instructions Ten Hag is giving them.

“Still not that convincing,” Lescott said on TNT Sports.

“They deserved to win, definitely, but in regards to the way I’m looking at and analysing Man Utd, I’m still not convinced they’re understanding each other, what they’ve been asked to do, or even if they’re executing any kind of the gameplan that the manager’s suggesting before.

“But it’s the results at the end of the season, so the performances are important but it’s more important they get the results rather than showcase how good they are as a team.”

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Rooney reveals how bigger teams will cause Man Utd problems

Pressed on what issues are still apparent for his former side, Wayne Rooney explained how the setup isn’t helping experienced midfielder Casemiro.

“For me, I think there was too much space from the backline to the forward players and Casemiro’s got a lot of work to do to try and hold the middle of the pitch,” Rooney explained.

“Against a better team than Everton were today, they could get problems caused against them.

“They deserved to win, they’ve got matchwinners. I think Rashford’s a matchwinner, Bruno always comes up with something and Garnacho as we’ve seen today created the two goals.

“But they can certainly play better than they did today.”

Nevertheless, United have earned their first win at home in over a month. Realistically, though, there is still an uphill task for Ten Hag.

TEAMtalk has been explaining recently how Sir Jim Ratcliffe will be ready to make a change in the managerial dugout at Old Trafford at the end of the season.

Next up for United is an FA Cup quarter-final against Liverpool next Sunday, with their next Premier League match not coming until they face Brentford on March 30.

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