Erik Ten Hag admits his Man United team are not ready for the start of the Premier League season.
The Red Devils open the campaign at home to Fulham on Friday night (8pm kick-off) but the 54-year-old says a summer of international tournaments, tours and new signings mean they are not ready to hit the ground running.
Will our summer signings be involved against Fulham on Friday? 🤔
Erik has spoken ⤵️#MUFC || #PL
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) August 15, 2024
“It’s not the pre-season where you have five or six weeks to work on the team,” he told his pre-match press conference.
“It’s very complicated. We had the USA tour squad, we add players from the Euros and Copa America, now new signings and now we have to make a team from it.
“That team is not ready but the league starts (regardless). Managers have to deal with this problem, we definitely have this problem, but we have to make a start, can’t hide, we can’t run away from it, we have to deal with it.”
The Dutchman said his main selection headaches were being caused by who to leave out, rather than who to bring in, less than 24 hours after adding Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui to his ranks from Bayern Munich.
“Issues are there but it’s not about the players who are not available, it’s about the players who are available,” he said.
“We have a good group, we can make a strong selection, we can put out a strong team and we will do.”
🚨🔴 “Maguire, de Ligt and Mazraoui are all available for Fulham game”, Erik ten Hag has just confirmed. pic.twitter.com/yipnCvEhE8
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 15, 2024
Both new arrivals plus Harry Maguire are in contention, though Luke Shaw is likely to miss several weeks with a calf injury.
After picking up trophies in both of his seasons in charge at Old Trafford, Ten Hag wants to continue the streak after agreeing to extend his stay.
“We know our targets, we know that we are (moving) in the right direction,” he said.
“We know we have won two trophies, we know our game model, so now we have to integrate the new players and if they can improve the game model and improve the team levels and take it from there.
“I have always very high expectations but we want to go for trophies.”
