I am almost certain Ten Hag's comments about being forced to play direct the other day were saying the following if you look under the surface...
"Bruno and Rashford are undroppable, i wish we could sell them as they break down almost every attack. Giving Rashford that contract was a mistake. I also have suffered bad luck with my defense. I bought Onana to play out from the back but currently i do not have the players at the back capable of bringing it out and moving it up the field."
From a City fans pov giving Rashford that contract was great. It has tied up any manager they have badly. Yes they have other issues but that is a huge one Ten Hag dare not say out loud. If he could sell one or both of them now he would do it before you could blink. I don't think he would do much better with them gone but it would not be this bad i doubt.