New Delhi: After last season’s disaster where Manchester United had injury status of 60 plus, Erik ten Hag, the club manager has made it clear that the squad needs to be caught up on depth to avoid repeating the uncertainty of the past year. In a low point for the club, they finished eighth last season in the Premier League
United have already made smart moves by signing defender Leny Yoro and forward Joshua Zirkzee this summer. Rumours suggest that the manager is pursuing Bayern Muich’s full-back Noussair Mazraoui and Paris Saint-Germain’s defensive midfielder Manuel Ugarte. Ten Hag has maintained that both full-back and central midfield are priority areas of the field.
However, ten Hag clearly needs to make the best use of the players he already has, Marcus Rashford and Mason Mount. Rashford suffered a disappointing campaign last season, scoring only eight times in all competitions, having finished the season of 2022-23 with a career-high of 30. Ten Hag has publicly backed his player and said that the striker has the potential to make a strong comeback after missing out on England’s squad for Euro 2024. He further pointed out that Rashford’s numbers were impressive given his age and would soon return to his old patch.
On the other hand Mount started only five Premier League games after his £55m move from Chelsea in the previous summer. The 25-year-old was restricted to a single minute as a substitute against Manchester City at Wembley.
The former Ajax boss has stated that his first XI is competitive, but they will need to have enough quality to mitigate fitness issues and injuries. Ten Hag has said that the side has the quality to beat any team, provided they are fit. After the last season, the Dutchman said that the season would be about ‘survival of the fittest.’ This is why Ten Hag has mentioned the need for the medical team to be of excellence to become less vulnerable to injuries. Further, the players will be expected to maintain high standards as well.
The reason to maintain high standards for players is the number of matches that will be played and the fixture list in order to cope with the pressure. Speaking about the injuries that played such a big role last season, Ten Hag said, “Bad luck we had them at the end of the season in the back four, and it cost us a lot of points. The load and pressure on players is immense, with the new model in Europe [competitions] next season.”
Ten Hag’s contract was recently extended at Old Trafford, and it could be said that the FA Cup win in May helped his cause. The new contract will see the manager with United until 2026, with a one-year triggering option. The contract comes after Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos-led assessment of the 54-year-old’s performance, which considered numerous potential replacements. Ten Hag insists that it is a new season and everything is behind them.
🔴 Ten Hag on summer uncertainty: “I just believed in myself, as always and finally I got the reward”.
“We are now in a new season, we left everything behind and we think about the future. We can do this together”.
“I’m 100% sure this is a great project”. pic.twitter.com/CYeSRf398b
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 26, 2024
Ten Hag has always been a firm believer in collaborating with players, staff and leadership and looking for the best way forward. So United’s appointment of Andrea Georgson as first-team coach will be a welcome move. The 42-year-old will join former United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy and ex-Go Ahead Eagles coach Rene Hake in the backroom unit. Georgson has previously worked in England at Brentford, Arsenal and Southampton. Ten Hag believes that this unit will help in building individuals and winning culture at the basic level.
The club’s next pre-season fixture is against Arsenal at LA’s SoFi Stadium. It will give a glimpse into what the Man United club has built and what the coming season will look like for them.
After a below-par last season for Manchester united, manager Erik ten Hag is looking to start the new term with the motto of “survival of the fittest.” Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
