Richard Keys once again laid into Erik ten Hag after the United manager aired his grievances over the cluttered Premier League fixtures schedule.
Speaking after United’s 2-0 victory against Everton at Old Trafford, the head coach stated that the build-up of fixtures that the side face was leading to ‘avoidable’ injuries.
United are enjoying successful runs in the FA Cup and Europa League, which have undoubtedly complicated their playing calendar.
But this argument held no water for Keys, who responded to the interview on beIN by addressing Ten Hag directly, saying: ‘Erik, as regards the scheduling and injuries, it’s the English Premier League.
‘If you don’t like it, there is always of course Eredivisie, where you can go and ply your trade.’
Richard Keys suggested that if Erik ten Hag was unhappy with the pace of the Premier League, he should manage a team elsewhere
The United manager was the subject of Keys’ ire once again after United’s 2-0 win over Everton
Ten Hag knows the Dutch league all too well, having managed in the Eredivisie between 2015 and 2022 at Utrecht, then at Ajax.
Keys has targeted the Dutch manager a numerous occasions throughout his debut season in English future, at points referring to him as ‘Erik ten months’ in an apparent jab at the predicted length of his tenure.
He later dubbed Ten Hag ‘Seven Hag’ after United’s 7-0 shellacking at Anfield in March.
Ten Hag’s concerns were brought to the fore after star man Marcus Rashford picked up a groin injury during Saturday’s clash.
The player will undergo a scan to understand the impact the injury may have longer-term.
No doubt worried about losing one of his most important forwards, Ten Hag launched into a damning indictment of the way that matches are scheduled.
‘Some things you can’t avoid but this was avoidable. Why was the Premier League giving us the late late Sunday night game and the early Saturday game. I think it is not right,’ Ten Hag said.
‘You run the risk that players can’t recover that quickly. All the science and research tells you the players need a certain period to recover.
‘If it is one game after another, it accumulates.
‘We are now finding ourselves in this situation and now we can only pray he [Rashford] is not drooping off.
Marcus Rashford left the pitch after a suspected groin injury picked up against Everton
‘No manager at this stage of the season would rotate so much. It was not necessary to set the schedule like this and from a sporting point of view, we want freshness.’
This is not the first time the manager has critiqued fixture arrangements, previously claiming his players were suffering from ‘overload’ in February.
United’s Europa League campaign will restart on Thursday, with their first quarter-final tie against Sevilla taking place on home soil.
Should they overturn six-time champions, Ten Hag will be confronted with an even greater fixture headache, as the club already has one Premier League match which is yet to be scheduled and the threat of more changes to come.
