Erik ten Hag has admitted that he is under pressure to win another trophy in his third season at Manchester United and prove himself again but believes they are heading in the right direction after their comeback win over Brentford on Saturday.
United face a reunion with their former manager José Mourinho in Thursday’s Europa League match against Fenerbahce, having failed to record a victory in the first two rounds of matches. Ten Hag’s side have conceded 17 goals in their past five away matches in European competition, stretching back to the Dutchman’s first season in charge when they were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
Mourinho led United to victory in the same competition during his spell at Old Trafford but Ten Hag acknowledged that both will not be judged by what they did in the past.
“Mourinho and I won a lot of trophies in the last years but you have to prove yourself every year and if you don’t you have criticism, we know that,” he said. “When you don’t win games the criticism is coming. We [United] are on the right path and are convinced we will achieve what our targets are.”
Asked whether his side were contenders to win this season’s competition, he replied: “United won domestic cups after [Mourinho] left but not in Europe. We have two points and we know what we have to do – we have to win games.”
United are without 10 senior players for their trip to Turkey, with Bruno Fernandes suspended after the captain was sent off in the 3-3 draw against Porto. Ten Hag revealed that Mason Mount could return soon from injury but was adamant that the players he has at his disposal can produce a positive result.
“It’s complicated but it’s never easy,” the manager said. “We have to deal with it and we will deal with it as a team. We have many games in a short time and we will deal with it the best way possible.
“We have made progress and I think we made a good step [against Brentford] but we have to follow it up [against Fenerbahce] and again on Sunday [against West Ham]. The players like to play football rather than training and we have so many games coming up. As long as we have enough players available then we don’t have to take any risks and at this moment we are still OK.”
