Darrell Clarke was left furious with his Barnsley side (Image: Getty Images)
Tuesday’s 7-0 Carabao Cup victory over League One Barnsley by Manchester United marked the team’s greatest victory under Erik ten Hag, and the Tykes manager was incensed when the final siren went off.
After Barnsley’s crushing at the hands of Manchester United, manager Darrell Clarke of Barnsley vowed to SLAP his flops.
On Wednesday night, the League One team traveled to Old Trafford for their Carabao Cup third-round match. But for Clarke’s charges, it was not going to be a night to forget.
The largest victory in Erik ten Hag’s tenure thus far came at the hands of the Red Devils, who thrashed them dreadfully 7-0. Along with Brazilian winger Antony, Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, and Christian Eriksen all scored braces.
Clarke was incensed by his team’s performance and declared that it ought to serve as a stark reminder of how far they have fallen from the elite. The Barnsley manager expressed his disappointment with the squad’s performance, saying, “Listen, they’re a quality team,” in an interview with Sky Sports. My anxiety when I came here tonight was that we haven’t done ourselves justice.
Many of my players didn’t have a good day. Mael [de Gevigney] is the one player who most likely leaves the game with credit. But it’s not a performance that we can live with.
“I understand that this is a major occasion against an extremely talented club. They turn it on when playing Premier League opponents, but I think it’s important for the players to realize what it takes to be a really, very good player.
“I’ll be giving them a slap because they’re miles off, we were miles off against a team that can absolutely destroy you when you’re not at it,” said the player who would never tell him that Premier League players are awful while watching a game.
For a jubilant Ten Hag, the most decisive win of his tenure, it was quite another tale, commending his side’s merciless edge.
“It was a tough start, but once we found the shape, it’s not so weird because this is the team’s first time playing together,” he stated. However, as we figured out the shape and patterns, we scored some fantastic goals. The first was from [Marcus] Rashford, which was a really excellent goal, but some of the other goals were also pretty impressive. We were extremely merciless and quick when playing in front of the goal.
“Finding the shape and, of course, the right attitude was key,” Ten Hag continued. We played incredibly well because we were totally focused. I thought it was entertaining to watch, and the fans seemed to like and value it as well. We provided the supporters some lovely goals, and you could sense the strong camaraderie between the team and the supporters once more.
