SILENCE OF THE LAMBS

Mctominay confesses: Last season too raw to discuss

MANCHESTER UNITED’S players still cannot bring themselves to talk about their worst season in Premier League history.

United ended last season in sixth place with 58 points, their worst total of the Premier League era, as the fallen giants hit their lowest point since Sir Alex Ferguson retired.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked and interim boss Ralf Rangnick won just 11 of his 28 games in charge, as United became a laughing stock in world football.

Painful

Erik ten Hag has been brought in to resurrect the club, with midfielder Scott Mctominay admitting last season’s nadir is still too painful for the players to discuss with each other.

But Mctominay, speaking on United’s pre-season tour of Australia, said the players must use last season’s misery as motivation, to ensure they never find themselves at such a low ebb again.

“It’s obviously difficult to speak about last year,” he said. “It touched a nerve in terms of when we speak about it again as a group. It’s not nice.

“But that’s got to be the motivation now to put everything back to normal and go for trophies again under the new boss, because I know that this squad is more than capable of doing that.”

Mctominay, 25, acknowledged the criticism the players received last season and said they must be big enough to take it – or find a different club.

“You’re playing for Manchester United, you’re going to get criticised,” Mctominay (right) said.

“If you think you’re going to come and play for United and you’re not going to get a little bit of criticism here and there, then you’re in the wrong job, because that’s just not how it works at this club.

“Maybe you need to have a little look in the mirror, because that’s just part and parcel of the game.

“Everyone gets criticised, that’s the world we live in, social media criticism. You only see how much you want to see it. That’s part and parcel of it as well.”

Ten Hag has been working United’s players hard in preseason, physically and mentally, with double training sessions and tactical meetings as he tries to implement his philosophy.

Tough

Mctominay admitted it has been one of the toughest preseasons he has endured, but said United’s players must follow

Ten Hag’s strict approach if they are to have any chance of getting back to the top.

“We’ve had some tough preseasons, but this is up there with one of the most difficult ones,” he said.

“But it’s accumulation, it’s getting miles in the legs and it’s getting everybody accustomed to the volume of work that we’re wanting to do.”

ANTHONY

ELANGA says Erik ten Hag

is whipping Manchester United’s players into shape – after admitting they were not fit enough last season. Interim boss Ralf Rangnick

wanted to turn United into “pressing monsters”, but Elanaga conceded the players were not in the right shape to become that. “We know we weren’t as fit last season,” said Elanga. “I think we’re even fitter this season, It’s a new style we’ve got. It’s

different now.”