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Erik ten Hag says he will need Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford despite news that Ineos have removed his ambassadorial role.
Speaking in the embargoed section of the press conference ahead of tomorrow’s Premier League clash with Brentford at Old Trafford, the manager rejected the idea that the legendary manager was no longer needed at the club.
“Of course it has an impact on us,” he said. “Sir Alex of course is Man United. He built United to where the club is now and it impacts us. But on the other side, also we know and Sir Alex knows, that is what he wants.”
“He wants to see a winning Manchester United and I’m sure he’s always available for every advice. We will need him, definitely, in the short-term, as we did in the last two-and-a-half years that I am here.
“Now and then we have a good contact. I would say, once in half a year I meet formally with him, but also of course, informally, around games, I meet him.”
Asked about the current situation that sees United in 14th place in the Premier League, Ten Hag said:
“We’re calm, but we’re not happy, that’s also for sure. No-one, the players, staff, the leadership, the board, no-one is happy with this position, but we’re calm and we know what we’re doing. We know the reasons why and what we have to change.”
“We are convinced we are getting where we want to be and this season will be a success.”
There was also some good news to come from the presser as Ten Hag confirmed that Manuel Ugarte was fit and available to play tomorrow after picking up a knock playing for Uruguay in the week.
“He is ready for selection, yeah,” he said.
Asked again about Sir Alex, Ten Hag said:
“At the moment, we can’t match the standards he set but still we have won trophies. Remember, six years before, this club didn’t win trophies, so we are coming back. We are returning, but obviously we are not there.
“We need all the processes right, we need to line up the best players.”
Asked if a manager needs five years, he said:
“I don’t think in how many years. I want to win every game.
“One thing for sure is that there’s almost no club in the world where expectations are so high as at Man United. That is set from the era of Sir Alex, and the rest of us who come after have to deal with this.”
“But that’s nice, that’s why you want to be here. It’s a big challenge, but it also demands the highest standards in every process and obviously we are not there in every process.
“We didn’t get, so far, to challenge for the Premier League or Champions League titles, but that’s the ambition, of course, and that’s what the expectations are, but still we managed to win some trophies.”
Ten Hag also spoke about Alvaro Carreras’ buy back clause and Scott McTominay’s success at Napoli, those comments are to follow in a separate article.
The first section of the press conference was covered here earlier.
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2024-10-18 21:38:05
