Erik ten Hag is strict and punishes people – I felt I had to leave Man United after our chat

James Garner described Erik ten Hag as "strict" and admitted he knew his days at Manchester United were numbered after talking with the Red Devils boss.

The midfielder played seven times for his boyhood club before signing for Everton in a £15million deal, including add-ons, in 2022.

The Englishman left the club the same summer Ten Hag was appointed boss and last year revealed that a frank conversation with his former manager led to his departure from Manchester – having spent 13 years with the club.

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Speaking in 2023, the Merseyside native revealed just how stringent Ten Hag is when it comes to his rules and how his discussion regarding his future disappointed him. "Ten Hag is a very approachable guy but is very strict," Garner said. "He takes no one bending the rules. He will say it how it is and will punish people if they have done the wrong things.

"My talk with him was easy. I asked him plain and simple whether I was going to be in the squad or if he saw me playing a part. I felt the conversation did not go as well as I wanted and I made the decision to move."

Garner's exit from United came on the back of an impressive loan spell he had with Nottingham Forest where he played an integral part in their promotion to the Premier League in the 2021/22 season.

The 23-year-old spent two seasons with the club and played 69 games across all competitions and he admitted he wasn't willing to become a bit-part player after his breakout spell with Forest.

"I definitely had conversations with him [Ten Hag] but I’d just come off the back of a good season, probably the best season I possibly could have had so I didn’t want to stagnate and sit on the bench week in, week out," Garner admitted.

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"Nothing is promised in football but when they start signing three, four midfielders you kind of understand your place. It was a decision that I wanted to make as soon as I went back, to go find first-team football somewhere else."

Since his arrival at Goodison Park, Garner has become an important player under Sean Dyche and appeared in all but one of their league games last season as they narrowly avoided relegation.