Ex-Man Utd star offers sincere Ten Hag evaluation after non-public talks compelled exit
Former Manchester United midfielder James Garner has opened up on what Erik ten Hag is like as a supervisor and his frank dialog with the Dutchman that led him to depart Old Trafford. Garner made the powerful choice to half methods along with his boyhood membership final summer season for Everton after spending the earlier two seasons on mortgage at Watford and Nottingham Forest.
Despite impressing in each spells and enjoying a serious function in serving to Nottingham Forest acquire promotion to the Premier League Garner would find yourself securing a transfer to Everton after Ten Hag revealed he would not issue into his plans.
“Ten Hag is a very approachable guy but is very strict,” Garner instructed the BBC. “He takes no-one bending the rules. He will say it how it is and will punish people if they have done the wrong things.
“My speak with him was simple. I requested him plain and easy whether or not I used to be going to be within the squad or if he noticed me enjoying a component. I felt the dialog didn’t go in addition to I needed and I made the choice to maneuver.”
On deadline day last summer, Garner joined the Toffees for £9million on a four-year deal. The decision received a considerable amount of backlash from Red Devils fans, who felt the youngster had something to give to the first team.
Last season, Garner featured 16 times for Everton in the Premier League but his campaign was derailed by a troublesome back injury that kept him out for 14 games. Towards the back end of the 2022/2023 campaign, he was deployed as a makeshift right-back due to Seamus Coleman and Nathan Patterson being sidelined by injuries of their own and never truly got a chance to make a meaningful impact for his new side.
This year he is expected to play a much bigger role for the Merseyside club having started all four of Everton’s Premier League games as a right midfielder. The Toffees narrowly escaped the drop last season and look set for another relegation battle this year after only managing to pick up one point from a possible 12. But Garner insists there are plenty of positives to be taken away from their poor start.
“Last season it was powerful,” he said. “We managed to remain within the Premier League, which was the purpose. This season, it has not proven by way of factors that we’ve had a superb begin, however in our performances in opposition to three groups – with the blip in opposition to Aston Villa – we created a hell of loads of probabilities.
“It is just about putting them away. We have to remain positive, don’t get too down and stay patient, it will come. Our squad is definitely strong enough to be middle to top half of the table, that is what I believe. With the lads coming back from injuries and our signings, it only adds to the strong squad we already have. It is about working together as a whole team with the staff and getting the three points which matters the most.”