Erik ten Hag has hit back at the boos he received during Manchester United’s draw with Burnley, saying the Old Trafford fans don’t ‘understand’.

Those same supporters watched yet another bleak 90 minutes on Saturday as Manchester United were only able to draw 1-1 with 19th-placed Burnley.

It was another drab game lacking in quality and only burst into life when Antony pounced on a loose ball in the 79th minute to and calmly found the bottom corner.

Yet, United were once again unable to hold out for the win in the closing minutes and threw the three points away.

This time Andre Onana, who had earlier made several fine saves, was at fault as he needlessly gave away a penalty by punching Zeki Amdouni in the head.

The forward picked himself up to convert from the spot and earn Burnley a valuable point in their bid for Premier League survival.

At full-time, boos rained down from the stands as pressure continues to mount on Erik ten Hag but they weren’t the first time they were heard.

Erik ten Hag gets booed for taking Kobbie Mainoo off

The first round of boos came in the 64th minute when the home fans voiced their displeasure over Ten Hag’s decision to take off Kobbie Mainoo.

The young midfielder was replaced by Scott McTominay and Ten Hag has moved to defend his decision.

He told beIN Sports: “The crowd doesn’t understand.

“It’s a 19-year-old boy, first Premier League season, third game in a week. We have to manage the game.

“We don’t want to be injured. Last season I had two bad injuries, you could see he got tired.

“I want to protect him and of course, by bringing Scott in you get…

“The game was really open, it was one-on-one over the whole pitch, a really intense game, and Kobbie got tired.

“With Scott, you bring fresh legs and he’s very good in making attacks, making movements and runs through the middle.”

Erik ten Hag was right in Mainoo his decision

Though the boos at full-time were justified after yet another putrid performance, they were misplaced when Mainoo made his way off the field.

Ten Hag himself has made a well-reasoned defence of his decision but he didn’t even need to. The fact is, Mainoo wasn’t performing that well and hadn’t done anything of note.

The teenager is already a fantastic player but he is capable of poor performances and he hasn’t actually been brilliant since the international break.

There should be no problem with taking him off, especially when the midfield was getting cut through at will, and it was the right decision.

Sadly, McTominay had to go off himself after picking up a knock in added time and Ten Hag admits he doesn’t yet know the extent of the injury.

The manager added: “I don’t know but I’ve seen he has problem. We have to diagnose this and see what it is.

“That [a lengthy injury] would be big headache.”

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