Erik ten Hag has insisted Manchester United can compete with England’s best teams and believes his core of young talents give the Red Devils an ‘X Factor’.
Manchester United are preparing for the new season in the United States and face Liverpool in a pre-season friendly this weekend.
Ten Hag’s team finished eighth in the Premier League table in 2023-24, the club’s lowest league finish for 34 years, but salvaged their season with FA Cup success.
That cup win saw United beat Manchester City at Wembley and made it two trophies in two seasons for the Dutchman at Old Trafford.
Ten Hag believes his team have proven they can compete and is targeting greater consistency in their league performances.
“We caught up and we’re capable of competing with the best teams in England,” he told The Guardian.
“Then you are trying to compete with the best teams in the world – some teams like Real Madrid of course, who are very good team. But the Premier League is at a very high level and we are capable of competing with them, which is very good. But our challenge is now to do this more consistently. How we do it has a lot to do with culture – winning culture, to build this.
“I feel that we built a foundation now, with the new leadership group, with the coaching staff and with new players coming in.”
Last season saw the emergence of Kobbie Mainoo from the club’s academy ranks, with the midfielder forming part of an exciting young core alongside Rasmus Hojlund and Alejandro Garnacho.
Garnacho and Mainoo scored the goals in the 2-1 FA Cup final win in May and Ten Hag has backed his starlets to go from strength to strength.
“They are really Man United players. Players who have an X factor but are young. They already have the experience of how to win a trophy and we have to build on that but with young players it will go with ups and downs and we have to realise that.
“Everyone has to realise this in this club internally but also you [the media] should realise this externally. Sometimes they will have a drop off and then it’s about: do they have the character to bounce back and to achieve against high levels?’”
