sport news Manchester United: Erik ten Hag's honesty pays off over Jadon Sancho absence ... trends now
One of the best exchanges between a football manager and a journalist I can remember took place at a dinner in the Midlands back in 1999.
Introduced to the lady from The Sun newspaper, one experienced manager of a lower league club said: 'Ah yes, your paper is full of lies.' He was doubtless rather surprised when the journalist nodded.
'Yes,' she said. 'You tell us lies and we print them.'
The look on that chap's face as he accepted rapid defeat in a battle of wits he himself had initiated has always stayed with me, as has one important lesson learned that day: don't be intimidated. Think on your feet. Stand your ground.
Not all relationships between reporters and football managers are like that, not even now when genuine friendships are harder to develop in the modern game.
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag deserves praise for his honesty over Jadon Sancho
Ten Hag realised telling the truth over Sancho's absence in the winter would help the winger
On his second game back, the winger earned United a point as they drew with rivals Leeds
The Red Devils' No 25 wheels away in celebration as he nets in front of a raucous Old Trafford
Nevertheless, most managers will occasionally lie to you in this business. They will be vague. They will obfuscate. They will lead you round the houses hoping you get lost on the way back. And, yes, when it's absolutely necessary, they will lie too.
Sir Alex Ferguson admitted it to me once. He used the media better than most, but as a last resort he said he would lie over two things in particular — player contracts and injuries. The truth on both would hand an advantage to Manchester United's opponents, he said.
All of which brings me to the current United manager Erik ten Hag and a lie he chose not to tell about Jadon Sancho - who earned the Red Devils a point during Wednesday night's 2-2 draw with bitter rivals Leeds United.
When Sancho didn't join United's training camp in Spain earlier this winter, Ten Hag could have invented a mystery injury or refused to say why the 22-year-old had been left in England. Neither would have sounded very satisfactory.
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