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Erik ten Hag apparently had two brutal words for a young Manchester United hopeful who was sweating over a new deal.
Nathan Bishop says the Dutchman slammed the door in his face when he went knocking about a contract renewal - but only after his savage verbal blow.
The goalkeeper joined the club from Southend United aged 20 in 2020 but made no first-team appearances, left for Sunderland in 2023, and now plays for AFC Wimbledon.
He told The One Glove’s Beyond The Box podcast: 'I built this scenario up. I needed to go up to Erik and speak about a new contract or the contract that had been offered.
'I wanted to go and play, leave and experience new things, maybe not sign a contract.
'I'd sat on this conversation in my mind for a long time. I'd gone over it and over it and over it and over it.
Nathan Bishop describing the experience of when he had to knock on Erik ten Hag’s door to discuss his contract situation is absolutely hilarious 😭😭😭😭😭
[🎥 - Beyond The Box @ Podcast and The One Glove] pic.twitter.com/LuSf3iWdF7
Former Manchester United goalkeeper Nathan Bishop says Erik Ten Hag brutally snubbed him
He went to ask Ten Hag about a contract extension but the Dutchman said 'not today'
'I didn't think that it was right that I deserved to go and knock on his door. I thought, "who are you to go and knock on his door?"
'“You’re not playing, you're just a joey, you’re a training goalie, shut your mouth, sign the contract and f*** off.
'That’s what I believed. And in my mind, when you believe something, you believe it, don’t you? You believe it's true.
'So I was like I’m not gonna go see him, and then, I built it up, I have to go and see him.”
'I knock on his massive door, his door is huge, he opens it, "not today", and shuts the door.
'I just stood outside the door, this big beam of wood, like "what the f*** do I do now?”'
It is unclear which precise circumstances Bishop is referring to.
Ten Hag joined United in 2022, and a year later Bishop signed a new one-year deal after the club triggered an option for an additional 12 months.
Bishop was part of the squad but never played and is now with AFC Wimbledon in League One
However, within two months of signing his new contract, Bishop was shown the door as Sunderland came in for him.
He only ever made two first-team outings for the Black Cats. Like United had farmed him out on loan to Mansfield Town, and also stuck him in the under-21s, so too the north east side sent him packing to Wycombe Wanderers and Cambridge United.
Now 26, he is thriving with Wimbledon. The Dons sit fifth in League One and he has played in 12 of their 14 games, keeping three clean sheets.
