Erik ten Hag has warned ‘it will take months’ to transform Manchester United’s mentality as he looks to bring consistent results to Old Trafford.
United have had a mixed start to the campaign and suffered a setback at Manchester City last weekend, with the Red Devils well beaten in a resounding 6-3 defeat at the Etihad.
That result ended a run of four consecutive Premier League wins – which included victories over Liverpool and league leaders Arsenal – and Ten Hag has warned it will take time before his team have the mentality to perform consistently at their best level.
The Dutchman has already criticised several performances this season, with emphatic losses at Brentford and Manchester City underlining the improvement required from his squad.
United travel to face Everton this weekend and ahead of the clash Ten Hag opened up on his challenge to bring a winning culture back to the club.
“It is physical. It is mental. It is also sustainability,” said Ten Hag at his pre-match press conference.
“It is like a routine, a way of life and you have to bring it to every training session, in your system, as a squad and an individual player.
“When you have a lack of it in the last years. It is not something that your build or progress in a week or a month. It has to be in your system. It has to be. It is a demand in top football nowadays. It is quite clear [Manchester] City set the standard in that.
“There are more teams but we can deliver that. We have seen it against Liverpool and Arsenal but now we have to do it on a consistent basis. That is what we have to work for now. But it will not come overnight. It will take more than weeks. It will take months.”
