Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has reiterated that his team have less depth than their Premier League rivals and remain in the process of building their squad.
The 54-year-old also put last season’s misery of finishing in eighth place on injuries.
Ten Hag extended his Man United contract, earlier this month, until 2026 despite reports he would be sacked after a disappointing campaign which was surprisingly ended with triumph in the FA Cup.
“That’s really too much. We are not the only team that struggled with injuries, other clubs had the same,” Ten Hag said to the Dutch daily Algemeen Dagblad.
“Last season we had constantly 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.”
The Red Devils are currently active in the transfer market, signing Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yoro, with deals for Manuel Ugarte and Matthijs de Ligt still yet to be finalised.
