Mikel condemns Ten Hag’s public handling of Sancho’s situation

Former Chelsea and Super Eagles midfielder John Obi Mikel has condemned Erik Ten Hag’s public criticism of Jadon Sancho’s recent performance.

Recall that the Manchester United manager publicly called out the England international after a Premier League match against Arsenal, leading to a heated response from the player himself.

Mikel, speaking on ‘The Obi One’ podcast, said that Ten Hag should have handled the matter privately, taking a cue from the approach of Sir Alex Ferguson during his time at Manchester United.

He noted that it was unnecessary for Sancho to publicly apologize, given the manager’s decision to criticize him in the public eye.

The former Chelsea star further emphasized the importance of discipline within the dressing room and addressing such issues behind closed doors, rather than airing grievances publicly.

“Everybody is going about Sancho not apologizing, I have a different view on that. My view is that the manager should not have said what he said in public.

“I would not come out publicly. When you listen to the ex-United players they have all said one thing. When things like this happened before during Ferguson, it was dealt with inside the dressing room, he handled it.

“It doesn’t matter how he handled it but he handled it. If his decision was for the player not to be involved anymore, that is it. You cannot come out publicly and criticize a player and say he was not training really well,” Mikel said.

The former Super Eagles skipper also cited the involvement of senior players like John Terry, who would take the initiative to mediate between the manager and players to find resolutions beneficial for the team.

Mikel recognizes Sancho’s potential as a young player, as well as the need for his presence on the pitch, hence, called for a more diplomatic approach to the situation.

“Back in the day, John Terry, this is where he got involved, he got involved in cases like this, went to the manager’s office to have a chat, brought the player because this is a player we need. Sancho is a player you kind of need.

“I’m not sitting here trying to defend Jadon but the manager has come out and thrown him under the bus.

“He needs to play, he is young, 23, he has not even reached his peak, still far away from that, but I hope they find a way to resolve it and get him back on the pitch, but if not then he has to move on,” he concluded.