MANCHESTER United manager Erik ten Hag has identified the reasons the club’s fortunes have dipped this season.
The Red Devils, once the most feared club in England, are sixth in the English Premier League table having lost 12 matches out of 31, and they finished bottom of a UEFA Champions League group that featured Bayern Munich, Galatasaray and FC Copenhagen.
Ten Hag has been under fire for the underwhelming performances and results in his second season in charge, but the Dutchman insists that factors he has no control over have contributed to the poor returns.
“The thing is you have to be realistic. As a manager it’s like a minister. Yeah, you don’t have anything in your hands but at the end of the day you have to accept that. You are responsible for everything. And I take that,” Ten Hag said ahead of this evening’s Premier League trip to in-form Bournemouth.
“It’s huge [the bad luck]. A lot went against us this season. You see all the penalties we conceded last week could also have been going in another way. You think over the course of a season sometimes you will get one, sometimes you will concede one but this season it feels like we only concede.”
Ten Hag, in defending his United’s regression this season, referenced his old club Ajax, who are in a similar situation to his current club.
“Some things you can’t expect, but as you mention, Ajax is similar. I don’t know if you follow what is happening at Ajax,” he noted.
“I don’t think so because the focus is not so huge from England to Amsterdam. But there are also issues and you can have the same problems and you see the same patterns.
“And you have to deal with it but some things and you don’t [see it coming] and you can’t influence as a manager on it and it just happens. Then you have to make the best out of it. You can just for seeing this season, what’s happening for you in the book this season.”
Although there have been reports that Manchester United will likely fire Ten Hag at the end of the season, the Dutchman is already planning for next year at the club.
“We are working in the background on plans with the scouting, so what we do with our staff is we are working on our plan,” he asserted.
“The plan is ready but we have to execute. And yeah I trust the new ownership will work as quickly as possible and bring new good structures and they can execute.”
