Erik ten Hag is confident Manchester United will have a successful season and insists there is “nothing for me to panic about”.
Ten Hag’s position has come under increasing scrutiny once again following Sunday’s humbling 3-0 defeat to Tottenham at Old Trafford and widespread reports suggest the next two games – at Porto in the Europa League tomorrow night and a Premier League trip to Aston Villa on Sunday – could decide his fate.
United are 13th in the league table having won two of their opening six games.
Ten Hag told Sky Sports: “Nothing is easy, but this is nothing for me to panic about. I have experienced it so often with my teams, during seasons that you are facing those problems.
“We can sort [the problems] out, this team can sort this out.”
“Nothing for me to panic about” ❌
Erik ten Hag is confident his Manchester United side can sort out their problems 💪 pic.twitter.com/2nAstRgXZb
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) October 2, 2024
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Not worried over his future
Asked if this week is pivotal for his future, he added: “I’m not thinking about it, I’m not anxious.
“We created a togetherness in the summer with the ownership and the leadership.
“We made this agreement, and we were all behind it. We know the strategy [is to bring in] young players in a transition period.
“They also know in May in all my last six seasons there were always trophies and that is what we are aiming for.”
🇵🇹 A trip to face FC Porto for the first time in over 15 years is up next.#MUFC || #UEL pic.twitter.com/pPCgWzFRG8
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) October 1, 2024
It takes time – Ten Hag
Ten Hag remains confident the club’s approach of recruiting younger players will pay off but reiterated his claim that it “takes time” to embed them into a new culture.
“If you lose your faith, you lose everything,” he said. “We have to keep going and stick to the plan.
“For a long period, we are in transition at Manchester United. From the moment I came in, we knew we had to change. We had to replace some older players.
“Our choice was to bring young players in and that takes time to get the messages on board, to get a game model on board and to introduce a new culture. That takes time.
“In the meantime, you have to win and I think we have proven in the last two years that we win.”
Ten Hag will face the media this evening in Portugal to answer questions about his position, as well as provide an update on the fitness of midfielder Kobbie Mainoo who came off against Spurs with a hamstring injury.
