Manchester United banned four journalists from attending Erik ten Hag’s press conference on Tuesday after reports claimed the Dutchman was dealing with a fractured dressing room.
Sky Sports‘ Kaveh Solhekol, Manchester Evening News‘ Samuel Luckhurst, Daily Mirror‘s David McDonnell and ESPN‘s Rob Dawson were denied entry to United’s Carrington training complex as Ten Hag prepares to speak to the media ahead of Wednesday’s clash with Chelsea.
In a statement, United said: “We’re taking action against a number of news organisations today, not for publishing stories we don’t like, but for doing so without contacting us first to give us the opportunity to comment, challenge or contextualise.
“We believe this is an important principle to defend and we hope it can lead to a re-set in the way we work together.”
United’s decision to bar journalists from the press conference comes after reports from those outlets emerged of unrest in the dressing room, with Ten Hag said to be losing support of his players.
The order came from United’s communications director Andrew Ward. In their report detailing Tuesday’s events, Manchester Evening News claimed Ward has prevented questions being asked in previous press conferences due to ‘perceived negative coverage’ of the club.
Ten Hag’s United were expected to kick on this season after a promising 2022/23 campaign in which they ended their six-year trophy drought and finished third in the Premier League.
However, the Red Devils have already lost ten games in all competitions, sit seventh in the Premier League standings and are on the brink of an early elimination from the Champions League, while they were knocked out of the Carabao Cup in round four by Newcastle.
90min understands that Ten Hag currently has the full backing of United’s hierarchy and incoming minority investor Sir Jim Ratcliffe, with those in power focused on installing stability and altering the club’s approach to transfer dealings.
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