thaisiambet Former Manchester United assistant manager Steve McClaren believes Erik ten Hag had the right to stand up to Cristiano Ronaldo during the media feud that led to the Portuguese superstar’s exit. thaisiambet

McClaren returned to Old Trafford for a second spell in 2022 to work with Ten Hag and nurture the relationship between the Dutchman and Ronaldo. ( thaisiambet )

After Ten Hag repeatedly benched the five-time Ballon d’Or winner in the opening weeks of the 2022-23 season, Ronaldo accused his boss of being a traitor and claimed he had shown him no respect.

Ronaldo’s contract was mutually terminated just days later, with fans and pundits split over who was in the right, but McClaren, who recently left United to take up the Jamaica national team job, has defended Ten Hag and backed his decision to sack Ronaldo.

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with his (Ten Hag) approach,” McClaren said.

“That shows in the way he’s dealt with Ronaldo. He (Ten Hag) comes in with a set standard, sets the rules, sets the way to play and if you don’t run you don’t play. He’s strict about that. That’s the Dutch way.”

“He knows that’s what’s needed. There’s no flexibility. There’s no way the players can evade (that responsibility).”

“That’s what you have to do or you don’t play and he beat Ronaldo and quite rightly so. Other managers have tried to adapt, Eric doesn’t think it’s necessary to do that, (Ralf) Rangnick tried it but it didn’t work out too well and Ole (Gunnar Solskjaer) is the same, so he (Ten Hag) has stuck to his game and developed other players.”