Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has warned fans that they need to temper their expectations – despite Saturday’s FA Cup final win over Manchester City.
United beat rivals City 2-1 at Wembley after goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo opened up a 2-0 lead for the Red Devils in the first half, with jeremy Doku on target late in the game for the Sky Blues.
But ahead of Saturday’s final, which brought a second trophy for Ten Hag after last season’s League Cup success, the Dutchman called for a “sense of reality” in an extraordinary interview.
Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag looks on during the FA Cup semi-final with Coventry City, (Image credit: Getty Images)
Speaking to Dutch outlet Voetbal International, Ten Hag said: “Manchester United won the league for the last time in 2013, 11 years ago. But still they expect us to win every game while competing at the top.
“This club is not ready for that.
“We were supposed to start building something and we made the first steps last year, but then you find out how big this club is and that nobody is ever satisfied.
“Within the club people were satisfied, but outside the club there was noise by saying I won only the Carabao Cup, lost the FA Cup Final and came third.”
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Ten Hag went on to say that his critics had “no sense of reality” because “other clubs had a much better squad” than his United team.
However, he did admit that the 2023/24 season has been a disappointment for United, especially in the Premier League.
“Let me be clear,” he said. “It has been bad. It has been c**p.”
But he added: “Despite everything, we are going to play an FA Cup final.”
(Image credit: Getty Images)
On the expectations for next season, Ten Hag said: “We need to sign an extra striker in the summer. And if we can sign another central midfielder and a replacement for [Raphael] Varane, things will look good again.
“If the team remains fit we can try and aim for top four again.”
Whether he will be in charge remains unclear, with big changes expected following the arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe to take charge of football operations in February, but Ten Hag said: “They want to rebuild with me. This is what they told me directly.”
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