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The results for Manchester United have fallen hard this season after an encouraging first year and with Sir Jim Ratcliffe arriving through the door, the collapse couldn’t have come at a worse time for Erik ten Hag.
After falling behind in the race for a Champions League place next season, pressure is firmly on the Dutchman.
However, speaking in the embargoed section of the press conference ahead of the Chelsea game, Ten Hag asked Sir Jim for more time.
He said that the new owner must resist the temptation to “interrupt the process” and have patience with the job he’s doing at Old Trafford.
However, that patience could well run out if United fail to qualify for the Champions League, something which the manager finally conceded is likely to happen.
He said: “I have high standards and I will be disappointed if we don’t qualify,” the United manager said. “I know it will be very difficult because we are not in a good position.
“But we want to win every game and that is the standard we have among each other and we will keep going and keep being in belief and having that standard. That will be the approach in every game.
“We will keep fighting until the end, but I know we are not in a good position. We have to catch up and I know we have had a lot of problems and I am a realistic man in a competition that is so competitive and the teams are so close in levels to each other.”
It is the first time that Ten Hag has sounded negative on their chances and it comes after both Tottenham and Aston Villa dropped points.
Ten Hag pointed out the huge barrage of injury issues as the key reason behind his side’s lack of consistency.
He said: “When you can bring the best players into your squad, you will collect more points. That is a fact.
“I will be realistic, but nevertheless I will keep fighting until the end for every game and I will demand from every game a win because we are Man United and we have to win every game.”
Hardly encouraging news from a man who is quickly losing support from sections of the fanbase and with Liverpool following Chelsea, it could yet get worse for the United manager.
Pleading for time from the owner is not a good look, and continued lack of wins is even worse. First has happened now, and the chance for the latter to happen is looking high.
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