Manchester United are still in the process of building their squad and have less depth than many of their Premier League rivals, manager Erik ten Hag said on Friday, as he blamed injuries for last season’s disappointing eighth placed finish.
Ten Hag earlier this month extended his contract until 2026 despite speculation he would be fired after a poor season, where they managed to put on some gloss with FA Cup success at the end of the campaign.
He called a total of 61 matches for his club in all competitions last season “simply bizarre.”
“That’s really too much. We are not the only team that struggled with injuries, other clubs had the same,” he told the Dutch daily Algemeen Dagblad on Friday.
“Last season we had constant injuries for players in the same positions, all at the back. At one point we had almost no defenders available.
“When we started here, United hadn’t won a trophy for six years and it really wasn’t because they didn’t have good managers here. It does say something about the composition and quality of the player group. I knew that when I started, of course, but they were players with long-term contracts.
“We were and still are in that process [of building]. If you compare our squad with other top clubs in the Premier League, we are certainly a bit less in terms of depth. That is exactly why we found it so difficult to deal with those injuries.”
Ten Hag’s position looked almost untenable as last season headed to a close but the 2-1 win over Manchester City in the FA Cup final at Wembley appeared to save his job.
“There was so much going on at that stage but I still firmly believed that we could win that final. The most important thing of all was to convey that belief to my team. I had to be careful that the entire environment did not become negative in advance,” Ten Hag said.
The 54-year-old Dutchman admitted the season did leave him exhausted but he said he was not concerned about his future at the club.
“If United’s management find someone tomorrow who they think is better, then I’ll go. It’s that simple. Those are the mechanisms in football that you have to respect. At a club like this, it is crystal clear: if you don’t win, you have a problem.
“Let’s face it: you lose too many matches, it just takes strength to keep the team focused and motivated every time. The players are disappointed, the people around you are disappointed.”
Since the disappointing eighth place finish last season, there has been a staff overhaul at the club and Ten Hag suggested better times are ahead.
“If you put in place the right structures and work well together, if you also have a good relationship with the players, then you know that things will get better again,” he said.
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