Manchester United ‘in transition’ despite £600m spend, says Erik ten Hag

Dutchman remains bullish about United’s chances of silverware saying: ‘I’ve proven in my career that always I will win’

Erik ten Hag believes Manchester United remain a team in transition as he fights to save his job ahead of a crucial week.
The embattled United manager has spent more than £600 million at Old Trafford but is under pressure after last Sunday’s 3-0 defeat to Tottenham left the side in mid-table. Former captain Gary Neville branded the defeat ‘disgusting’.
The United manager’s future is under intense scrutiny, although Telegraph Sport reported that he will be in charge for the away matches at Porto and Aston Villa this week.
Telegraph Sport has been told that senior players within the dressing room still support Ten Hag, who said he is a winner and that he will prove it.
“If you lose your faith, you lose everything,” Ten Hag said in an interview with Sky Sports. “We have to keep going and stick to the plan.
“For a long period, we are in transition at Manchester United. From the moment I came in, we knew we had to change. We had to replace some older players.
“Our choice was to bring young players in and that takes time to get the messages on board, to get a game model on board and to introduce a new culture. That takes time.
“In the meantime, you have to win and I think we have proven in the last two years that we win.
“I’ve proven in my career that always I will win. The last six years I have eight trophies.”
Asked about whether he fears losing his job, Ten Hag added: “I’m not thinking about it, I’m not anxious.
“We created a togetherness in the summer with the ownership and the leadership.
“We made this agreement, and we were all behind it. We know the strategy [is to bring in] young players in a transition period.
“They also know in May in all my last six seasons there were always trophies and that is what we are aiming for.”
United have just two wins from six games and are in the bottom half on seven points, following last season’s eighth placed finish – the club’s worst in the Premier League era.
United won their appeal over Bruno Fernandes’ red card against Tottenham, clearing him to play against Villa on Sunday, but before that comes a trip to Porto following a disappointing 1-1 draw with Twente in the Europa League.
Ten Hag, whose personality has been questioned by former coach Benni McCarthy, insists everyone at the club remain aligned.
“Yes. We have seen in this group there is a good spirit. Even after all the setbacks [in the Spurs defeat] they kept going,” he added.
“You see that spirit in this team and you see this is a team they want to fight for each other.
“Also you can see the fans, they are disappointed, but they kept with us and they kept supporting us from the first moment till the last moment. We are in it together.”