Manchester United boss Ten Hag bans 3 big publications including The Sun from asking questions at press conference before Burnley clash: Reports

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag reportedly banned reporters from three big publications - The Sun, Manchester Evening News and The Mirror - from asking questions in his pre-match press conference.

According to Mail Sport, Ten Hag made this incredibly controversial decision before the Red Devils' game against Burnley in the Premier League.

United struggled against Championship side Coventry City in the FA Cup semi-final, blowing a 3-0 lead and allowing their opposition to level the game with a 95th minute penalty.

However, they prevailed 4-2 on penalties, and will take on bitter city rivals Manchester City in a mouth-watering final.

According to The Telegraph, Ten Hag felt that the reporting and criticism of his side after that game was highly disrespectful. Therefore, he allowed the journalists from those three outlets to enter the press conference room, but refused to take any questions from them.

His United side has since barely scraped past bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United (4-2) after going down 2-1 to them in their last league fixture. They have also been on a rotten run of form, having won only two of their last eight league matches.

They currently sit sixth in the Premier League table, with a three-point advantage over seventh-placed Newcastle, who lost 2-0 to Crystal Palace in their game in hand.

Ten Hag will be hoping that Manchester United can come away with another positive result against Burnley, which could give them much-needed momentum in the race for European qualification.

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag talks about star forward Marcus Rashford's social media activity

In the same pre-match press conference, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag answered a question about star forward Marcus Rashford's social media activity.

On Friday, Rashford made a post about the unjust criticism of his performances on social media and how it has been affecting him mentally.

A post made by user @UtdParadigm said:

"The way Marcus Rashford is being treated is absolutely disgusting. Its cruel. Its abuse."

To this, Marcus replied:

"I appreciate your support! It is abuse and has been for months. Enough is enough."

When asked about this post, Ten Hag replied:

"I have a lot of sympathy for Rashy, of course. Last year, he had a brilliant season. I think the best season in his career, he scored 30 goals. This season, he didn’t give the performances and people have been very critical. We have to back him, and everyone should back him to get back to the levels of last year."

He called for more support for his star forward in such a tough phase in his career, adding:

"I think he needs the support. We all know what he’s capable of, we all have to support and push him. He can do better than this year. We saw last year when he was really brilliant."

Manchester United are set to host Burnley at Old Trafford in their next Premier League fixture on April 27.