Erik ten Hag has said the expectation at Manchester United is to ‘go for trophies’ this season.
United begin their Premier League campaign at home to Fulham on Friday evening, looking to bounce back from a disappointing league finish in 2023/24. The Red Devils ended the campaign in eighth, their lowest league finish for 34 years, but salvaged silverware after beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final.
For Ten Hag, the cup triumph reduced the mounting pressure on his position and made it successive seasons with a trophy, after a League Cup win in his debut campaign.
Ahead of his third campaign in charge, Ten Hag said the expectation is to challenge on all fronts.
“Not so different but we know our targets, we know our direction,” Ten Hag said at his pre-match press conference when asked if he felt different ahead of season three.
“Now we have to integrate new players where we think they can improve the team levels and to take it from there.
“[Our expectations] Always very high, we want to go for trophies.”
United have had an encouraging summer in the transfer market with Joshua Zirkzee, Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui freshening up the squad in key areas.
Ten Hag has urged patience with his side, however, insisting it will take time for the team to gel.
“We are complete and we are now working together for 10 days and always it will take a while,” he added.
“There will be more teams who have this problem. At the start of the season don’t drop points, work hard, make sure you are organised in and out of possession.
“We are not 100% form but we have to go from game to game to improve and to get higher performance levels in the team and in individual players. We will see how quick we can go with this process.”
