Erik ten Hag may not be the most charismatic manager in the Premier League but his differing reactions spoke volumes when making a double substitution in the second half.
The Manchester United boss withdrew hot-and-cold winger Antony and struggling striker Wout Weghorst in a bid to get a grip of the game just before Newcastle took a deserved lead and then claimed a well-earned 2-0 win. When Weghorst trudged off, albeit much quicker than the upset Antony, Ten Hag merely gave him a pat on the belly for his seven touches and all-round dire display.
As for Antony, the United manager put his arm around his back, seemingly explaining why he made the decision to introduce Jadon Sancho, despite Antony toying with Newcastle marker Dan Burn for much of the game. The Brazilian trickster has been heavily criticised this season following his £86million move from Ajax, where he worked with Ten Hag.
In Weghorst's case, the Netherlands international is on loan from Burnley and has endeared some supporters with his lung-busting performances. But two goals since his arrival in January tells the story, with the Red Devils targeting the signing of Harry Kane this summer, even though Ten Hag hasn't ruled out signing Weghorst on a permanent basis.
"Of course [he could stay]. I think he is doing a lot of elements of football really well," the United boss declared in his press conference on Friday. Wout is doing a really good job for us. He is the leader of the process in pressing, he starts the press and is very good in backward pressing. He is also taking up [good] positions and in his link-up play he's doing really well.
"He is making good movements, making space for others, he's also good in set-plays. He is really contributing to this team. I think after Christmas we have played 25 games and lost two - and Wout played almost all of the games so he is really part of the success."
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Meanwhile, Antony is here for the long haul and Ten Hag understands that the 23-year-old needs time to adapt to the rigours on English football. Speaking in January, the Dutch tactician told ITV: "I think he's growing. We want him to be also more dynamic, more variable and more direct. There still is more to come and I think he's capable of it, I think it's big potential in him and he has to develop it every day."
After a recent impressive performance as United beat Real Betis 4-1 in the Europa League, Ten Hag added: "In the first half, he could do better to make more actions, be more brave, go more behind, taking players on, more movement, using his speed. The second-half performance was much better, he made a great goal, an important goal."
