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Erik ten Hag exclusive: Man Utd boss confident the season can be turned around despite worrying Premier League start

Manchester United bosses are backing manager Erik ten Hag despite the worrying start to the season, but crunch games at Porto and Aston Villa could test their resolve this week ahead of the international break; under-fire Ten Hag says everyone should "stick to the plan"

Thursday 3 October 2024 06:18, UK

A defiant Erik ten Hag has insisted Manchester United will solve their problems and make a success of the season.

United bosses are backing Ten Hag despite the embarrassing performance in Sunday's 3-0 home defeat to Tottenham in the Premier League.

But crunch games at Porto and Aston Villa await this week as pressure ramps up on the Dutchman ahead of the international break.

"We are going to make a success from the season," Ten Hag told Sky Sports.

"Nothing is easy, but this is nothing for me to panic about," he added. "We can sort [the problems] out, this team can sort this out."

Ten Hag's position was also precarious in the summer, with multiple candidates sounded out about replacing him, but he insists he has the trust of those deciding his fate.

Asked if he thinks he will still be in his job should the next two games go badly, Ten Hag said: "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."

Ten Hag ended United's six year-trophy drought by winning the Carabao Cup in his first season and then lifted the FA Cup in his second campaign, but nearly lost his job over the club's poor league performances.

United came eighth last season, an all-time low in the Premier League, and have begun this one with two wins from six games, leaving them in the bottom half of the table on seven points.

Ten Hag says ensuring the players keep their belief is the most important thing for him and his staff now.

"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," he added. "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.

"I've proven in my career that always I will win. The last six years I have eight trophies."

Gary Neville said Sunday's game was the worst he has seen United play under Ten Hag, describing the performance as "disgusting".

Asked if he takes responsibility for failures on the pitch, Ten Hag replied: "When the players have a bad performance then I haven't done my job great because they didn't play as I expected them to do.

"We are there together and we have to fight together to get out of this."

Ten Hag insists he and the players are "on one page" despite the concerning display against Spurs.

Asked if he is sure the players are aligned, he added: "Yes. We have seen in this group there is a good spirit. Even after all the setbacks [in the Spurs defeat] they kept going.

"You see that spirit in this team and you see this is a team they want to fight for each other.

"Also you can see the fans, they are disappointed, but they kept with us and they kept supporting us from the first moment till the last moment. We are in it together."

You can read the full transcript from Sky Sports' exclusive interview with Ten Hag here.

Explained: Why Man Utd are standing by Ten Hag

Sky Sports News' senior reporter Melissa Reddy:

"Manchester United have been open in admitting the biggest problem at the club in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era has been the lack of a football-first approach, a proper brains trust with the best in the business and a structure that is in keeping with elite clubs across Europe.

"There is the appreciation that so many good managers have come to Old Trafford and failed so the problem is with the foundation and correcting that as a starting point. They also know Erik ten Hag has dealt with so much off-pitch turmoil - whether that be player discipline or the takeover dragging on - and the new leadership football team felt he didn't have the best support, knowledge and help around him.

"They allowed him to change his coaching team this summer, influence recruitment again, and have wanted to give him at the very least a full season under this new INEOS-powered set up to see if there'll be improvement. However, if dismal performances like Tottenham become the norm, it will be incredibly hard for them to stick to that approach."

Neville: Man Utd display in defeat to Spurs 'absolutely disgusting'

Sky Sports' Gary Neville speaking after Sunday's defeat by Tottenham:

"The first half was as bad as it gets. This is a shocking day, a sobering day. This is a really bad day for Ten Hag.

"You can't say it came from nowhere because Manchester United have been inconsistent all season, but they have chosen to put in their very worst performance, their very worst possible showing.

"It was an absolutely disgusting performance in that first half in effort, quality, everything you would want in a football team, and there are going to be a lot of questions to answer for that group and the manager in the next week."

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