Boss Erik ten Hag called the players together last Thursday and urged them to air any grievances without the threat of repercussions. 2 Erik ten Hag brutally shouted at Cristiano Ronaldo during the tense encounterCredit: Getty 2 Erik ten Haag let his Manchester United players have their say in the meetingCredit: Getty During the on-air session, Ten Haag told Ronaldo and captain Harry Maguire that they would not start against Liverpool on Monday. Ronaldo, 37, did not speak, but several players had their say as the manager laid down the law for his lowly players. They then beat Liverpool 2-1. Ten Hag is sick of the Ronaldo circus that threatens to undermine his rebuilding job. He was particularly angry last week after the Portuguese superstar promised he would soon grant a full-blown interview. Now Ten Hag just wants the striker out, while several players feel that Ronaldo’s attitude and mood is affecting the spirit in the camp. The United boss has told his players it’s his way or the highway in his no-nonsense approach to the team. The boss invited everyone to have their say on the training ground last week as he tried to understand why they had performed so poorly in the opening two games. FREE BET AND SIGN UP OFFERS – BEST NEW CUSTOMER OFFERS In a two-hour showdown, Ten Haag gave each player a chance to say what they wanted about the state of the club. But he insisted on going first. The Dutchman told the players he had the full backing of the United board to do whatever he wanted. If someone didn’t like him or didn’t want to play for him, he was called upon to tell them there and then – and was free to leave the club. He said everyone had to be on the same page and play football the way he wanted. The former Ajax boss said he would not want his under-performing stars to ruin his reputation. He then invited the players to speak in front of the team to air their own grievances, which many did. Marcus Rashford appears to have asked when he would play him as a No 9 as he had been told he would in pre-season. It was then that Ten Haag told him he would get his chance next Monday against Liverpool. Rashford, 24, responded with his best game in a while in the middle of a front three with Jadon Sancho and Anthony Elanga in the distance. He switched to a position out wide at the start of the second half when Anthony Martial replaced Elanga and the pair combined for Rashford to score. Ten Haag made four changes to the team from the 4-0 defeat at Brentford, informing both Ronaldo and Maguire during the meeting that he was out. The captain’s armband was awarded to Bruno Fernandes. Last weekend Ten Hag revoked the players’ license, taking them on a brutal 13.8km run in which he also participated. This impressed the team – many of whom had been angered by the cancellation of their day off. Ten Haag said last Friday that he wanted them to be angry and channel that anger into their performances. His words and actions had the desired effect as United beat Liverpool 2-1 on Monday. It is understood that training in the days following Thursday’s team meeting was at a different level to what had come before.
