Despite a disappointing summer in the transfer market and a loss on the first day of the Premier League season, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag thinks there is no reason to panic. Erik ten Hag is aware of the anxiety Manchester United supporters are experiencing due to their terrible start.
The standards at Old Trafford are allegedly so high that he thinks he would be in a panic if there were no such hysteria. Ten Hag insists that despite United’s humiliating loss to Brighton at home in their opening game, he is not in a panic and is instead quietly attempting to strategize how to turn the team around.
“When Manchester United are not performing, not winning, this is normal,” said the United boss. “I would be more in panic when there wasn’t panic because we have to win. That is the demand.
“Still, I would say panic isn’t the right word. It’s more like, ‘come on, we have to act’. We have to think bright and do the right things.”
Fans are also concerned by the lack of big-name signings and United’s move for Ten Hag’s top target Frenkie de Jong remains stalled. They have yet to sign the midfielder and striker Ten Hag wants, even though the Dutchman has been in place since April.
Ten Hag defiantly claims the picture at United is not as bleak as it looks and rejected talk that it was a disaster. “No, and of course once again it would be my preference to have players in earlier because we could be starting the process earlier,” he said.
“That’s quite clear, but at the end of the day the season is long and you have to get in the right players. It’s really complicated, but I think we are really happy with what we have done until now.
“We cannot live with low standards because then we will not get back where we have to be.”
And Ten Hag remains adamant that by the time the window closes on September 1, United will have a significantly stronger squad. “We have to. I am convinced we will have,” he stressed.
The new manager also denied speculations that there were any unresolved issues inside the organization after reports surfaced that said United executives were against a deal for Hakim Ziyech. Ten Hag hopes to get a new winger before the deadline but has had little luck luring Antony away from his old team Ajax.
Since then, Ziyech has apparently become a target for Chelsea, although the club has reportedly informed him that they would not pursue a transfer for the Moroccan. However, when asked if he and the board were “on the same page” regarding transfers, he responded, “Yes.
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