Erik ten Hag was unhappy with the spirit in his Manchester United squad when he first joined (MB Media/Getty)

Erik ten Hag told one of his Manchester United players to ‘stop whining’ about playing in the heat before their defeat to Brentford earlier this season, according to reports.

Ten Hag’s reign as United manager got off to a poor start as his side were beaten at home by Brighton in their opening Premier League game before that was followed with a 4-0 loss away to Brentford.

That setback sparked an impressive turnaround as United went on to win eight out of their next 10 games, while Ten Hag’s coaching methods have been praised by several members of his squad.

But according to The Times, Ten Hag was not happy with the attitude of his United players before a ball was kicked against Brentford and reprimanded one who complained that ‘it’s way too hot to play football’.

Speaking earlier this month, Ten Hag made it clear that he was unhappy with the morale among his United players when he joined from Ajax.

‘There was no spirit in it [the dressing room], I didn’t see any team dynamics in the team,’ Ten Hag told Voetbal International.

‘The mental toughness was very low. The fighting spirit, for each other, prioritising the team, that wasn’t really in this squad. Changing the culture was the most important thing for me.’

Manchester United sunk to a 4-0 defeat at Brentford in Erik ten Hag’s second game in charge (Getty)

United currently sit fifth in the Premier League table but are just a point behind Tottenham who have played a game more.

Ten Hag’s side will move into fourth if they beat Wolves in Saturday’s early kick-off.

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Ten Hag was unhappy with the complaints.