Erik ten Hag admitted that “one or two” of his players had given him suggestions on how Manchester United could improve, but said his side were heading in the right direction despite a 10th defeat of the season to Newcastle.
United lost 1-0 at St James’ Park on Saturday, falling to seventh place in the English Premier League. They face Chelsea at Old Trafford on Wednesday and Bournemouth at home on Saturday before facing Bayern Munich in the Champions League next week.
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“I always listen to my players and I always give them opportunities to express, if the players have a different opinion, of course I will listen,” Ten Hag said in a press conference on Tuesday.
“But they didn’t tell me. Or maybe one or two. But it’s generally about the majority, and they want to play that way – proactive, dynamic, courageous, that’s what they want.
“You can see that the players are supporting it because of the performances we had against Everton and Galatasaray. You can also see that we are really improving.”
United finished third and won the Carabao Cup in a positive first season under Ten Hag, but the new campaign began with ten defeats from 21 matches in all competitions.
They are already nine points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal and sit at the bottom of their Champions League group and on the brink of elimination.
Despite all this, Ten Hag said his team is improving.
He added: “We know that we are still in a transitional stage, but we are in the right direction.”
“You see how we build a team, develop it, the team progresses, how young players come through, you see the potential and how they can contribute to a very successful Manchester United in the future.”
Following the defeat to Newcastle, United’s players – particularly Marcus Rashford – faced criticism over a perceived lack of effort.
Rashford was seen running back as Newcastle attacked before being substituted in the 61st minute.
“We are not robots,” Ten Hag said. “If you play three games in six days, they are difficult games, and in the end fatigue can be a problem. It can never be an excuse, but it is there. Against Galatasaray, against Everton we played very well.
“Against Newcastle, we were not happy with our performance. We are the first to say, players are the first to criticize themselves, and admit it. We know. We have to do better than this.”
