was getting higher on the glide scope and he rectified this by disconnecting the auto-pilot and hand flying the aeroplane down. The Check Captain had taken the view that he should have used the auto-pilot
And he was criticised for making that decision! As one FCTM states under the general heading of Automatic Flight:
"Early intervention prevents unsatisfactory airplane performance or a degraded flight path.
Reducing the level of automation as far as manual flight may be necessary to ensure proper control of the airplane is maintained.
Of course there may be more to it but on the basis of that one comment by the training captain, it would appear to the casual observer he was rubbishing the pilot for taking the correct action under the circumstances - regardless how he got himself into those circumstances.