Erik ten Hag has asked for “patience” after Manchester United’s failure to finish in the top four of the Premier League was confirmed.
Ten Hag’s team can only finish fifth this season after United’s 1-1 draw with Burnley on Saturday and Aston Villa’s 2-2 tie with Chelsea.
Following the tie with Burnley, Ten Hag, who joined from Ajax in 2022, begged fans and club owners for more time to make things right.
“We have some very young players and that is why we built this club back and that takes time,” Ten Hag went on to say. “We built it by bringing in young players like Alejandro Garnacho, Rasmus Højlund, and Kobbie Mainoo, who are all in their first season of Premier League.” The Premier League becomes more intense year after year. “Those guys need to acclimatize, which takes time. I’m quite impatient, but we need patience.”
Ten Hag also cited United’s past as evidence that patience pays off. Sir Alex Ferguson finished third in the 2004-05 season with a team formed around youthful players Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, but by 2008, they had won the Premier League twice and the Champions League.
“The great Man United teams they also forget — 2004-05 — they didn’t play that great football,” Ten Hag went on to say.
“They were building, and it takes time, but everyone forgets, including the players on the team. They forget they were suffering and needed time to improve.”
