Clegg axes Hyde United squad after blasting players for being ‘too comfortable’

Hyde United manager Michael Clegg has overhauled his squad after delivering a scathing verdict on last season’s campaign, insisting that too many players had become “too comfortable” at the club.

Clegg has released all but a handful of the players who represented the Tameside club last term, according to an interview published in last week’s Non-League Paper. The manager made clear that the decision was rooted in a belief that the group had lost its edge despite enjoying strong facilities.

Comfort was the enemy

“I think we had too many people who were too comfortable last season,” Clegg told the Non-League Paper. He pointed to the quality of Hyde’s set-up as part of the problem, rather than any lack of resources at the club.

“The stadium’s good, the gym’s good. We’re on the astro for two hours a week so the training’s always good. We’ve got a kit deal with Adidas, so all our gear is absolutely mint,” he said.

“It was just too nice and too comfortable for too many people,” Clegg added, explaining his reasoning for such a drastic clearout of the playing squad ahead of the new campaign.

A fresh start at Ewen Fields

The scale of the rebuild means Hyde United will go into the new season with a squad largely unrecognisable from the one that finished last term. Clegg’s comments suggest he wants to instil a sharper, hungrier mentality among his players as he looks to push the club forward.

Hyde United, who play their football in the non-league pyramid, will now look to bed in a largely new group of players during pre-season as Clegg attempts to build a squad capable of matching his demands for focus and application.

The manager’s blunt assessment comes amid a wider summer of change across the non-league game, with clubs up and down the pyramid reshaping their squads and coaching set-ups ahead of the 2026-27 season.

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