Erik ten Hag got verbally attacked by Ralf Rangnick for saying things that he agreed with at Manchester United.

In the past, Ralf Rangnick said that Manchester United needed a “open-heart operation” to fix their problems. Erik ten Hag agreed with this before he was fired. After United lost 2-1 at West Ham on Sunday, the Dutchman’s United dream came crashing down, and he was fired on Monday morning.

The 54-year-old was fired because United hasn’t been playing well this season, with only three wins in nine Premier League games, putting them in 14th place. Also, after three painful draws in the Europa League, the club is 21st out of 36 teams in the table.

But before Ten Hag started working at Old Trafford, Rangnick, the caretaker coach who was leaving, said that the club needed to get the “best possible players” so that the Dutchman could change the “attitude and energy” there. He even said it was like having a “open-heart operation.”

“We need good energy for the new team and the new manager,” the Austrian said. This could be one of the few good things about this season if he gets it and learns the right lessons. You at least know what screws we need to turn and what we need to change. If that happens, Erik ten Hag should be able to do as well here as he did at Ajax.

“Turning around all the other things that got the club to where it is now is what’s causing the manager to fail.” One of the few good things about it is that it’s very clear. You don’t even need glasses to see what’s wrong.

“Now it’s just about how to solve them.” Not small things for looks. This is an open heart surgery. The process doesn’t have to take years if everyone agrees that it needs to happen. It could happen in the next year. It has been done by other clubs in just three transfer rounds.

Ten Hag agreed with Rangnick about how big the job was at United. He told the Dutch newspaper AD Sportwereld, “Rangnick was absolutely right.” We’ve been working hard on this for two years, but he was right when he said it is a detailed and very complicated job. It was clear from the start that it would be hard work.

It looks like these statements are a damning sign about how badly Ten Hag’s time at United ended. Even though the club won some awards, fans were upset and unhappy with how the team played, especially after losing badly to their biggest rivals.

Ten Hag’s contract was extended by one year after United beat Manchester City in the FA Cup final in May, but he was fired three months later after United had their second-worst start to a Premier League season.

United has been looking for a sixth regular manager since Sir Alex Ferguson left in 2013. Ruud van Nistelrooy will now take over for the time being. The job of fixing the club’s problems, on the other hand, seems to have become much harder than it was before.