Manchester United is set to kick off the 2024-25 Premier League season by hosting Fulham at Old Trafford this Friday. Manager Erik Ten Hag acknowledged that the team isn’t fully ready yet but emphasized a strategic build-up throughout the season.
\"We are complete and we are now working together for, let's say, 10 days and always that will take a while,\" Ten Hag explained. \"But more teams will have this problem. In the start of the season, don't drop points, work hard, make sure you are well organized in and out of possession – that gives you the best chance. But we will not [be] 100 percent, 100-percent form. But we have to go from game to game to improve, to get higher performance levels in the team and individual players, and we will see how quick we can go into this process.\"
Last season, United finished eighth in the Premier League with 18 wins, six draws, and 14 losses but celebrated a triumph in the FA Cup after defeating Manchester City in the final.
Addressing team dynamics, Ten Hag stated, \"The issues are there. But it's not about the players who are not available. Like I said last season, it's about the players who are available and we have a good group, we can make a strong selection, we can put out a strong team, so we will do. [Matthijs de Ligt, Harry Maguire and Noussair Mazraoui] will be in the squad.\"
The manager highlighted recent signings Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui from Bayern Munich, both of whom previously played under Ten Hag at Ajax.
\"I think he (Mazraoui) is a player who is quite difficult to put under pressure,\" Ten Hag commented. \"I think especially in English football, that can be very beneficial. There is always pressure on the ball and this is a player who one of his key attributes is that it's very difficult to put him under pressure because he finds often solutions.\"
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Manager Ten Hag: Manchester United will build into the season
cgtn.com