Erik ten Hag issues surprising Manchester United comment surrounding poor league form

Erik ten Hag has explained that he has “no concerns” with Manchester United’s recent league form, despite a lack of goals.

In the Premier League, Manchester United have not won a fixture since 19 February, in a 3-0 victory over Leicester City.

The last three league fixtures have seen them lose to Liverpool and Newcastle United, and draw against Southampton, conceding nine and scoring zero in the process.

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United, for the first time in 2023, dropped out of the coveted Premier League top four spots, with an inferior goal difference compared to Newcastle and Tottenham – all three sides currently sit on 50 points apiece.

When questioned on if he is concerned with his side’s current league form ahead of the tie against Brentford, Ten Hag quickly reminded everyone that his team have seen victory in other competitions.

“We played 60 minutes against Southampton with ten men, we beat Fulham. We beat Newcastle in the Carabao Cup, so no concerns,” he explained on Tuesday afternoon.

This comment, however, has surprised a few fans, who have voiced concerns at the lack of positive performances in recent weeks.

He did, however, recognise the dire performance against Newcastle, highlighting specific statistics that bring United’s weaknesses to light.

“We had a very bad performance because the opponent wanted it more, ” he explained. “They were sharper. You can see that in the challenges, we won only 16 from 61 challenges in offence and in defence the opponent beats us 48 from 78 challenges. Then you can’t win a game.”

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One miss that has become obvious in recent weeks is the absence of midfielder Christian Eriksen, who has been unavailable since United fought off Reading at the end of January.

Ten Hag was asked if Eriksen will be available for the fixture on Wednesday, with the Dutchman confirming that Wednesday will be too soon, however, the Dane has joined back into team training.

“Not tomorrow. He is returning on the pitch, he is returning to team training today so we have to see how quick he can now make the progress.”