Erik ten Hag urges Man United players to “step up” ahead of potentially defining game against Aston Villa
United had squandered a two-goal lead, adding more pressure on Ten Hag in what has been a frustrating season so far
Erik ten Hag has called on his Manchester United players to “step up” as they face what could be a defining moment for the under-pressure manager in their clash against Aston Villa this Sunday, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe watching from the directors’ box at Villa Park.
The United co-owner will be present as Ten Hag looks to secure his first win in five games following a difficult start to his third season at Old Trafford.
Just days after suffering a 3-0 defeat at home to Spurs, United captain Harry Maguire raised concerns about the team’s mentality despite his stoppage-time goal rescuing a dramatic 3-3 draw against Porto in the Europa League.
United had squandered a two-goal lead, adding more pressure on Ten Hag in what has been a frustrating season so far.
Although Ten Hag insists he still has the backing of the United hierarchy, he acknowledges the need for immediate improvement, especially with an in-form Aston Villa, fresh from a 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich in the Champions League, looming.
When asked if he felt there was enough patience from the club’s ownership and fans to weather this turbulent period, Ten Hag responded: “I’m not thinking about such issues because that is not a topic.
“We are in there together: the ownership, the leadership, the team, the staff.
“I appointed new staff. We bought again new young players and we have to integrate them.
“There is a range, a spectrum of topics and you have to address it right.
“So this team has the belief that they don’t give up.
“So they have that range of mentality and they have a strong mentality.
“But in some other parts, they have to step up.
“And if you want to win trophies, definitely. In some areas, you have to improve.”
Since Erik ten Hag took charge in May 2022, Manchester United have conceded three or more goals in 24 matches – a record worse than any other Premier League side during this period.
Ten Hag has often been criticized for his team’s lack of organization, structure, and defensive discipline.
While the United manager has denied claims of indiscipline, he acknowledged that the team needs to improve in several other areas.
“On other part, we have to improve, for sure,” he said.
“But also, we can say we are very disciplined, for instance, in the first 25 minutes (against Porto) in our positioning and how we created the chances in the right moment.
“We speeded up the game.
“So I would not only address it as undisciplined, but definitely we can improve.
“And we have to improve if we want to make it a success.
“We can only achieve – like the last two seasons – and win trophies when we improve.
“So yeah, we will work on this, definitely.”
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