Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag’s disciplinarian ways have been widely broadcast since his arrival last summer. Jadon Sancho is the latest player to be put in his place. Ten Hag’s philosophy is simple: winning trophies on the pitch starts with a good culture off it.
That, of course, includes snuffing out any sign of disruption in his dressing room, a category which Sancho has fallen under after publicly challenging the Dutchman’s authority.
Alejandro Garnacho, Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcus Rashford have also fallen under the microscope for falling out of line during the first year of Ten Hag’s reign.
But despite banishing Sancho from the first-team frame and harvesting positive results from Rashford and Garnacho’s respective punishments, another problem could be brewing for Ten Hag.
According to ESPN, the United boss has used Sancho’s strict treatment as a warning that those who choose to defy him will join the 23-year-old out in the cold.
But he allegedly holds concerns about the attitude of a couple more of his players as he battles to keep control of his dressing room.
David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer all lost the support of their players before receiving the United axe.
A tumultuous start to Ten Hag’s second season off the pitch has undoubtedly impacted results in the opening two months.
Takeover uncertainty, the Sancho saga, Mason Greenwood’s return U-turn and an unprecedented injury crisis are just a few issues to have rained down on Old Trafford.
It contributed to United losing four of their first six games of the campaign against Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Brighton and Hove Albion and Bayern Munich.
But back-to-back wins and clean sheets against Burnley and Crystal Palace have papered over the cracks, with a favourable run of fixtures on the horizon.
United host Palace at Old Trafford again on Saturday before Galatasaray and Brentford also visit M16 in the run-up to the October international break.
On club football’s return, United travel to Sheffield United before more home games against Copenhagen, Manchester City and Newcastle United.
Football is a results business, and Ten Hag will be judged as such, but he will have one eye on maintaining the peace behind the scenes.
There is currently no light at the end of the Sancho tunnel. Ten Hag insists it is ‘down to him’, indicating he is awaiting an apology for being called a liar on social media.
Whether that will come remains to be seen. And further attitude issues among his squad would be another unwelcome hurdle to leap.
