Manchester United Manager Warns Against Complacency despite Recent Unbeaten Run
London – Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag cautioned against overconfidence following his team’s positive recent form, despite a four-match winning streak culminating in a 1-0 victory at Brentford on September 27th. Ten Hag referenced a similar period last season, warning that a downturn in form is always possible.Eleven months prior, after a 4-0 win against Everton at Old Trafford, he predicted “a storm will come,” a forecast that proved accurate as United won only seven more league matches adn finished 15th.
The manager emphasized the competitive nature of the Premier League, noting that teams at the bottom of the table possess a significant number of points, meaning the league standings can shift rapidly. “If you see the bottom [of the division] they have a lot of points,so everything can change in one moment. so I don’t like to say the storm is over,” ten Hag stated. “But we are more prepared for any storm in this moment. So let’s take this sense of urgency to every game.”
Ten Hag stressed the importance of maintaining a sense of urgency in both training and matches, acknowledging the unpredictable nature of the league where any team can secure a win. While acknowledging the possibility of extending their unbeaten run to ten games – requiring positive results against Everton, Crystal Palace, west Ham, Wolves, and Bournemouth – he insisted that simply avoiding defeat is insufficient.
“We need to think to be six games unbeaten, but then unbeaten is not enough,” he said. He expressed frustration wiht recent draws, stating, “Unbeaten is not everything, we didn’t win the last two games, so I don’t think we are unbeaten five games ago. In my mind, we don’t win a game, we are going to the third game, and the last two we didn’t win, so that is my feeling.”
The team faces further challenges with a long-term knee injury to Benjamin Sesko, sustained during a 2-2 draw with Tottenham. When questioned about the loan of Rasmus Højlund to Napoli,Ten Hag explained the difficulty of managing player expectations within the squad.”Sometimes in these clubs it’s hard to make everyone happy – imagine that Rasmus is here, and you say if Ben has an injury, you have more time to play,” he said. “It’s impossible to manage a dressing room like that, so that’s why we need to improve the kids from the academy [so] if you have an injury it is an opportunity for them.”
