Ten Hag pleads for more time to turnaround Man Utd

United never recovered from a terrible start as Brennan Johnson tapped in from Micky van de Ven's storming run through the heart of the home side's defence after three minutes. Ten Hag then lost his captain Bruno Fernandes to a straight red card before half-time. Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke then gave Tottenham's dominance a fair reflection in the scoreline in the second half.

Ten Hag began the season under scrutiny after surviving an internal review at the end of last season. United finished eighth last season - their lowest ever Premier League finish - and have won just two of their opening six games of the new campaign to sit 12th in the table. "We all made it together, this decision to stay together as ownership and leadership group in the summer," said Ten Hag when asked if he feared the club's new football leadership group will turn to a new manager.

"We made the decision from a clear review on what we have to improve and how we want to construct the squad." Ten Hag was even handed a one-year extension to his contract under three months ago. The former Ajax boss badly needs a quick turnaround in fortunes with two tough away games to come this week at Porto in the Europa League and Aston Villa in the Premier League.

"I think we will get better and we need some time," he added. "We are all on one page, in the same boat, together, ownership, leadership group, staff and players." Ten Hag was critical of the manner his side conceded an equaliser in a 1-1 draw against FC Twente in the Europa League on Wednesday. And he could not contain his frustration as Tottenham struck in similar fashion within minutes.

Van de Ven charged from deep inside his own half to the United by-line and crossed for Johnson to apply a simple finish. "As a team it cannot happen twice in a few days that a defender can dribble through the whole park," said Ten Hag. "What I saw in first 30 mins is below the level we can expect from a Manchester United team.

"The players got very stressed after conceding so quick and they made bad decisions." United's first-half display was branded a "disgrace" by former captain Gary Neville. Fernandes, though, came out fighting over his dismissal. The Portuguese international slipped as he slid into a challenge with James Maddison and caught the Tottenham midfielder just below the knee.

"Never a red card, that is my view," said Fernandes. "If he wants to give me a yellow (card) because they are going to go on a counter-attack then I agree. But more than that, no. It is not the case."

 

September 29, 2024