Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag insisted he is convinced his team are progressing in the right direction, despite their unimpressive start to the campaign.
The Red Devils ended their run of five games without a win as they defeated Brentford 2-1 in the Premier League on Saturday but the pressure is not alleviated yet ahead of a showdown against former manager Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbache in the Europa League on Thursday.
United are just with two points from their opening two games against Twente and Porto — and with Mourinho also under pressure after a difficult start to life in Turkey, all is set up for a fiesty affair.
“Professional football is about winning games. When you don’t win games, criticism is coming, but we also know it’s about how you are in the end of the year,” Ten Hag said in his pre-match press conference.
“Mourinho is so experienced, he will lead his team to its best form and will be successful and so will we. We are convinced we are in the right direction and if we follow the right path, we will achieve what our targets are.”
Mourinho lifted the Europa League and League Cup during his first season at United in 2016/17.
Prior to Ten Hag’s arrival those were United’s last trophies as the English giants endured a six-year trophy drought.
Ten Hag has won the 2023 League Cup and the FA Cup in May during his first two seasons in charge, but is yet to leave a good record in Europe.
United crashed out of the Champions League group stages last season and lost out to Sevilla in the quarter-finals of the Europa League during Ten Hag’s first season in the dugout.
“We won domestic cups after he (Mourinho) left but Man United didn’t win in Europe,” Ten Hag continued.
“It’s a target that we want to achieve and we have a big opportunity this season but, of course, we have to qualify, we have to win games.
“It’s a new set-up, we are now two games under way. We have two points, so we know what we have to do, we have to win games.”
