The Next Big Thing
Chapter 180: Coache’s Trust

Chapter 180: Coache’s Trust

"Here’s what we’re going to do in the second half."

The words rang out clearly in the dressing room.

David sat up slightly, his eyes lifting toward Ten Hag, but his thoughts were a world away. His ears had heard the words, yes — but it was everything leading up to that moment that had him reeling.

Before the coach had spoken, Ronaldo had. The man, the legend, had stood up, pacing with that familiar, impossible energy, the fire in his voice somehow still as fresh as it had been a decade ago. He’d spoken passionately, not yelling, but not far from it either. Encouraging, calling for more, asking for fight. Making jokes to ease the tension — the kind only Ronaldo could get away with. And David had listened, watched, heart pounding. He admired him. Who didn’t?

Then Ten Hag stepped forward and interrupted with a calm but firm, "Okay, okay, Ronaldo. We understand."

Ronaldo turned to him, nodded, even grinned slightly. "Yes, sir," he said, offering a light quip. "We need those changes now. We can’t keep doing the same thing and expect something different, right?"

The room chuckled lightly, but Ten Hag’s face remained stern.

"Thank you, Ronaldo," he said. "Help me sit, please."

And now, there they were. The boss standing in front of them, ready to speak. Ready to deliver the verdict. But David... David already knew what was coming.

He couldn’t stop his eyes from flickering down again. Couldn’t keep his hands from tightening into fists on his lap. He was trying to prepare himself for the words that would come next — words that, he feared, would cut deeper than any tackle on the pitch.

Yes, he had gotten in a good cross toward the end of the first half. But that was it. A single moment of clarity in a half drowning in disappointment.

For forty-five minutes, David had tried to beat his man down the wing — and failed. Again and again, the defender had read him like an open book. Every time David tried to cut inside, he was blocked. Every attempt to surge forward, to wriggle past — shut down. It wasn’t just frustration. It was humiliation.

But the bigger problem wasn’t even that.

All week, Ten Hag had drilled them on defensive responsibilities. On how, aside from Ronaldo, every single one of them was expected to track back, cover the flanks, help the fullbacks, and compress the space. "No passengers," the coach had said over and over.

Normally, that wasn’t an issue for David. He was fit. Fast. He could do the work. But not tonight. Not with the way his legs had been feeling. The tension. The soreness. The kind of ache that made even walking feel like dragging bricks.

He knew, deep down, he couldn’t give both ends of the pitch tonight. Couldn’t run back to defend and still have the legs to charge forward and make something happen. So he’d made a choice.

He’d picked attack.

Because goals win games, right?

It was a mentality he’d spent months trying to unlearn — ever since Ole left. The old him had clung to it, obsessed over it. But under Ole, he’d started to change. To understand the game beyond just the scoreboard.

Still... old habits die hard.

He needed a goal. He needed a moment. Something to show not just the fans, or the coach, but the men upstairs — the suits, the board, the decision-makers. Because Ten Hag had told him the truth weeks ago: the management didn’t rate him. They didn’t think he belonged. They were questioning why he was still here.

David had taken those words personally.

So, tonight, he’d tried to prove them wrong. ’This is me.’ ’I’m good.’ ’You need me.’ ’I belong here.’ ’I am a Manchester United player.’

But it had all gone wrong.

In the first half, his plan had crumbled. He’d tried to score. Failed. Tried to dribble. Failed. Tried to create... and nearly succeeded. That cross, that perfect ball to Ronaldo — it had been the moment.

He remembered it vividly.

His foot connecting with the ball. The arc. The spin. How Ronaldo had found space, pulled away from his man like only he could. The silence as the ball neared his head. David had already raised his hands, already prepared to celebrate. That was it. Redemption. Proof.

And then Ronaldo missed.

The ball had sailed over. And within seconds, the other team countered and scored their second.

David had dropped to his knees on the pitch. The crowd’s roar felt like thunder pounding in his skull. His chest tightened. His eyes stung. All the hope — crushed in a single moment.

And worst of all?

He had disobeyed Ten Hag’s instructions. He hadn’t tracked back. He hadn’t helped the defense. He had gambled — and lost. Not only had he failed to leave a positive impression... he’d broken the coach’s trust.

The same coach who had insisted on starting him. The same coach who had stood by him, even when it would have been easier to cave to the pressure from above.

Ten Hag had backed him. And now David had let him down.

He didn’t need the coach to say it. He could see it in the way he walked. The tightness in his jaw. The way he scanned the players. The tension in his voice.

David could feel the words forming before they were even spoken.

He was going to be subbed off.

He was going to be benched. Removed. Forgotten.

This was his last chance. And he had ruined it.

He dropped his head again, staring at the laces of his boots, his vision blurring. His heart was pounding — not from the match, but from fear. Dread. Regret.

"After everything... everything... this happens."

He felt like he was drowning.

He had worked too hard for this. He had given everything to reach this stage. He had fought past youth team cuts, doubts, injuries, whispers in the press, critics online. He had finally made it. And now, in a single half, it felt like everything was being taken away.

The silence in the room stretched. Ten Hag stood, watching. Measuring. The players looked up at him, waiting. David didn’t move. He didn’t dare.

Then the coach spoke again.

While David sat in silence, lost in his whirlwind of self-doubt, regret, and disappointment — he wasn’t the only one buried in thought.

Eric ten Hag was in his head too.

The moment Ronaldo had started his passionate tirade, Ten Hag had been in the coaches’ area with his assistants, quietly discussing adjustments for the second half. But as soon as he heard Ronaldo’s voice rise — not angry, but charged with purpose — he stopped. He raised a hand to silence the others.

"Let him speak," he had said.

And he had stood there, watching, listening.

Ronaldo didn’t just tear into his teammates. He tore into himself too. Holding them all to a higher standard. Demanding more. That same relentless drive that made him great was now filling the room with uncomfortable truth.

Ten Hag hadn’t stopped it. He needed to hear it. They all did.

But as Ronaldo’s voice echoed off the walls, Ten Hag felt something twist inside him.

He’d always prided himself on being self-aware — aware of his flaws, his ego, his stubborn streak. He didn’t pretend to be perfect. But in trying to stay ahead of his own flaws, had he blindly walked into them? In trying to prove the board wrong — to show them that his choices were better, that his vision mattered more — had he doubled down when he should’ve taken a step back?

Had his stubbornness made everything worse?

His eyes landed on David, who still sat with his head bowed, fists clenched, visibly devastated. The kid hadn’t moved since they walked in.

And that’s when the memory surfaced — their last meeting.

David had sat in his office, full of fire, saying he was ready. Saying he could handle it. And Ten Hag had believed him. Maybe too much. Maybe... too easily.

He had treated him like a professional.

Because in many ways, David had seemed like one. Mature beyond his years. Calm under pressure. Diligent in training. Focused. But tonight? On this stage, in front of thousands, under the crushing weight of expectation?

Tonight, he looked his age.

He hadn’t just struggled — he’d crumbled. His dribbles, usually electric, had looked stale, forced, predictable. There was no snap in his step, no confidence in his touch. Every time he tried to burst forward, he was muscled off, outpaced, outclassed. On defense? He was nowhere. Lost in transition. Out of position. Late to react.

Ten Hag could remember one play vividly — David trying to cut inside, losing the ball, jogging back half-heartedly — and then the goal. Their second. The dagger.

And now, sitting there with slumped shoulders and a broken look in his eyes, David wasn’t a pro anymore. He was a teenager. A sixteen-year-old boy with the weight of a stadium on his back.

A kid.A kid who had been given a man’s burden.A kid who was trying to carry expectations, pressure, pride, the board’s scrutiny, the fans’ judgment, and his own overwhelming need to prove himself.

Ten Hag had handled this badly.But he was going to fix it.

And the solution was clear now.

He had to treat David like a kid.

He stepped forward.

The room shifted as the players looked up at him. All except David, who remained locked in his own mind, unaware of what was coming.

Ten Hag cleared his throat, commanding the space.

"Alright," he began, voice even but strong. "This is what we’re going to do in the second half first off."

Every player leaned in slightly. They were expecting changes. Everyone was. Substitutions. Tactical tweaks. A new approach.

Ten Hag paused, letting the tension rise.

Then, finally, he said it.

"I’m not changing anyone."

The words hit the room like a dropped glass.

Several heads turned sharply. Bruno blinked. Casemiro actually leaned forward, frowning. One of the assistants looked at him with wide eyes.

A voice broke the silence — "What?"

Someone had said it out loud. Stunned. Disbelieving.

Another voice echoed it, smaller, more shocked.

David.

His head snapped up.

"...What?" he breathed, as if the air had been punched out of his lungs. He stared at the coach, eyes wide, his face pale with confusion.

Ten Hag turned, locking eyes with him.

"You heard me," he said firmly. "No changes. Not yet. Everyone stays. That includes you."

David’s mouth opened slightly. He couldn’t speak.

The others were still reeling.

"But—" someone began.

"No," Ten Hag cut them off. "Listen. We were poor in the first half. Not one of you is safe from that criticism. But we fix it together. We started this as a team — we finish it as a team."

Then, his eyes went back to David.

"And some of you," he said, softer now, "need to remember what it feels like to be believed in."

A hush settled over the room.

David’s throat felt tight. His chest, heavier than ever, somehow felt... lighter.

Ten Hag turned away, facing the tactics board.

"Now — here’s how we’re going to win this."

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