da bet esporte： The Dutchman is leaving Old Trafford kicking and screaming at anyone who dares point out the obvious – it's not a good look for him

da dobrowin： As manager of Manchester United, Erik ten Hag is unlikely to have studied the words of past Liverpool coaches very much. But he would do well to listen to this piece of advice from Bill Shankly: “A lot of football success is in the mind. You must believe you are the best and make sure you are.”

Lately, Ten Hag has been focusing on the first part of the equation and not the latter. He seems to believe that United are doing just great. Just take his bizarre claim after the 1-1 draw with Burnley on Saturday: "We are one of the most dynamic and entertaining teams in the league at this moment," Ten Hag told .

Ten Hag is right that United are thoroughly entertaining – for everyone else…

Getty Not enjoying the show

United fans are not enjoying the show, as they made quite clear by booing their team off the pitch at full-time while also voicing their displeasure at the manager's substitutions. They are not enjoying the results either, and nor should they be.

Saturday was the fifth time in which United have failed to win in the Premier League in their last six matches. Even when they do win, such as beating Sheffield United 4-2 in midweek or sneaking past Coventry on penalties in last weekend's FA Cup semi-final, it is only after putting their fans through the ringer.

But rather than admit his side's failures, Ten Hag has developed a worrying habit of making delusional statements and clamping down on those who criticise his team too heavily.

AdvertisementGettyBunker mentality

The manager's response to the analysis of the nervy FA Cup win over Coventry summed up the bunker mentality he has developed in recent weeks. He had been asked in the press conference immediately after that game if his players were embarrassed with the way they had qualified for the final, having thrown away a 3-0 lead and survived an embarrassing defeat in added time of extra-time thanks to the tightest of offside calls.

The Dutchman had tried to turn the narrative around by insisting reaching back-to-back finals was "a great achievement" but he had also admitted that he had "mixed feelings" after the game and that the late collapse "shouldn't have happened".

A few days later, when previewing the game against Sheffield United, he was asked again about the Coventry game and decided to go on a rant about the media reaction to his side's performance, which he slammed as "embarrassing" and "a disgrace". Rather than attempt to move on and focus on the next match, he decided to get into in a petty squabble with the media.

Getty Cracking down on criticism

The squabble did not end there, however. It soon emerged that Ten Hag had asked the club's media team to not invite questions from three newspapers who had published critical articles after the game and suggested that he should be sacked.

The ban on questions from , and the continued in Friday's press conference ahead of the Burnley game, although the outlets were allowed into the room. That was not the case in December, when , the , and were prohibited from attending a press conference for publishing negative stories without seeking a response from United.

The club had previously banned reporters from from a press conference for reporting that United were looking at alternatives to Ten Hag, even though the story had not been written by reporters who regularly cover the club.

GettyLosing control – unlike Ferguson

Sir Alex Ferguson was infamous for banning journalists who had published stories he did not like, and it was wrong then just as it is now. The media should be able to write what they like, within legal limits, without fear of being barred from the premises. After all, this is the United Kingdom, where freedom of expression and freedom of the press is guaranteed.

Ferguson sought control in every form, including with the media. The Scot went to far more extreme methods than Ten Hag, refusing to speak to the for years and also refusing to hold post-match press conferences apart from on special occasions.

Ferguson, however, mostly escaped scrutiny for his treatment of the media because his teams were so successful. Indeed, it was sometimes interpreted as a sign of his strength and power. But Ten Hag's media clampdown, given the results he is getting and the position United are in, demonstrates a lack of control.

It is fine for Ten Hag to disagree with media narratives about the club and he is far from the only manager to be at odds with the press. His predecessors David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer were all the subject of negative coverage, but none of them – not even Mourinho – resorted to banning reporters or silencing them.