KICK UP THE ACHTERSTE*

It’s Dutch for backside . . . and what a Holland journalist gave stunned Ten Hag after boss admitted pulling up players

ERIK TEN HAG hopes “a kick up the a***” will kick-start Marcus Rashford’s stuttering season into life against Liverpool this afternoon.

The Manchester United manager knows he cannot afford any shrinking violets in the heat of Anfield with last season’s 7-0 capitulation still hurting for anyone of an Old Trafford persuasion.

Rashford divides opinions among United fans, some believing he is a mercurial talent, while others are growing exasperated with his apparent mood swings leading to subdued performances.

The 26-year-old is back in action after illness kept him out of the Champions League defeat against Bayern Munich on Tuesday night.

Asked whether the forward needed an arm around the shoulder or a kick up the backside, Ten Hag replied: “For almost any player, it’s an arm around the shoulder, sometimes a kick in the a***.

“It can make a difference in the management which approach you are taking.”

His wry smile suggested the latter – and, for Rashford’s critics, not before time with just three goals so far this season in 26 games for club and country. A radio reporter from Ten Hag’s native Holland wondered why the manager’s Dutch followers were seeing a different, more complex character than when he was in charge of Ajax, and whether he could guarantee he would still be in a job after the Liverpool game. Ten Hag replied: “I’m not concerned about that. I want to win, I want to win with my team, progress the team in the right

direction.

“We are here in a project. Last season we were heading in the right direction.

“This season we haven’t met the standards we expect to have. That’s the truth. We have had a setback. The future for Manchester United is very good if you see how many good players we have in the squad, how many good young players who have really high potential to play at a top level worldwide.

“I am sure, when the injured players come back, this team will perform better.”

Ten Hag insists he has a squad that can deliver teams capable of winning every game. The facts state otherwise. It is now 12 defeats in 24 games in all competitions.

But Ten Hag added: “I see the quality on the training pitch, but the only moment they have to prove it is in the games themselves.

“And this team have proved it in certain games, when they have been under high pressure, and played very good football.

“Yes, they have also had lows… so there have been high highs and low lows.

“As a team, we have to become more consistent.”

He has blocked all the noise about Sir Jim Ratcliffe coming on board to run the football operation and possibly removing the Dutchman.

Asked if he had spoken to any representatives of Ratcliffe’s company INEOS, Ten Hag said: “No. There are others dealing with the strategic review, so I’m just waiting.

“I’m focusing on my job, which is performing with the team and developing the team.”

‘I see the quality in training, but they have to prove it in games’