Ten Hag: 'Man Utd back with bad habits'
"Of course, you have to conform to certain standards, and the standards this season have not only increased, but also fluctuated," Ten Hag said on April 4 in a press conference before the 25th round match. Premier League meets Brentford. "You have to know why you are where you are and what brought United to that position. It was determination, passion, desire and I miss that."
At St James' Park over the weekend, Newcastle only had 45% of the ball, but finished 22 times with six shots on target, compared to six and one for Man Utd. "Shoots" even had a stronger victory if they took the opportunity, when possessing an expected goal index (xG) of 3.54 - compared to 0.54 of the away team. In addition, the home players have 134 sprints compared to 93 for Man Utd.
Ten Hag admits that Man Utd often collapses when encountering strong opponents and playing "above the usual level". Before Newcastle, this happened in the matches Man Utd lost to Brentford 0-4, Man City 3-6 or Liverpool 0-7.
According to the Dutch coach, Man Utd is still struggling and "tends to return to the old way". Ten Hag explained: "Sunday we came back with bad habits and immediately failed. The players talked and knew this was not the standard of Man Utd. We started the season badly. and then back on track. But we went to Newcastle and put in a much lower performance than we could have expected."
The "Red Devils" lost their last three matches in the Premier League, losing to Newcastle, drawing Southampton 0-0 and losing to Liverpool 0-7. According to Ten Hag, the long-term injury of Christian Eriksen and the suspension of Casemiro is one of the main reasons why Man Utd is unstable. The 53-year-old coach said that matches are often decided in midfield and Man Utd must know how to win even without the strongest force.
Casemiro is also banned for two games against Brentford and Everton, while Eriksen has returned to training but is not ready to play. "Not tomorrow but Eriksen will be back soon. He will train with the team today. So we have to see how quickly Eriksen can progress," Ten Hag revealed.
On April 4, Man Utd announced an extension of Luke Shaw until June 2027. According to Ten Hag, this deal is a good message as Shaw is an England player, a modern left-back, can play in many other positions and fits the standards of the Old Trafford owner.
When asked about his colleague Graham Potter being sacked by Chelsea after just six months, the Dutch coach replied: "You never have time and you have to get good results in top football. You have to work through the process. and find balance".
