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4th September 2023
02:55pm BST
Manchester United are standing by Erik ten Hag in light of the comments made by Jadon Sancho on Sunday night.
Sancho wasn’t named in the squad as Manchester United fell to a 3-1 defeat against Arsenal, with two of the Gunners’ goals scored in stoppage time.
After the game, Ten Hag revealed that he chose to omit the England international from his squad due to his poor performances in training, prompting the 23-year-old to respond on social media.
He said: “Please don’t believe everything you read! I will not allow people saying things that is completely untrue.
“I have conducted myself in training very well this week. I believe there are other reasons for this matter that I won’t go into, I have been a scapegoat for a long time which isn’t fair! All I want to do is play football with a smile on my face and contribute to my team.
"I respect all decisions that are made by the coaching staff, I play with fantastic players and grateful to do so which I know every week is a challenge. I will continue to fight for this badge no matter what!"
According to The Guardian, United have given their backing to Ten Hag and although close sources say there's "nothing to add," could punish Sancho for his outburst.
Tensions between the two have grown in recent weeks, with Sancho failing to recapture the same form that convinced the Red Devils to sign the winger from Borussia Dortmund in 2021.
Ten Hag meanwhile has a reputation for clamping down on players with disciplinary decisions, most notably Cristiano Ronaldo, who ended up leaving by mutual consent.
Marcus Rashford was also dropped from the starting XI before coming off the bench to score the winner against Wolves in a Premier League fixture last season.
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