"We know the reasons why it is not working" - Erik ten Hag sends brutal message to Manchester United board after Nottingham Forest loss
Erik ten Hag has sent a strong message to the Manchester United board after their loss to Nottingham Forest, telling them that the squad is not good enough. He believes that the injuries have exposed their weakness and the lack of depth at the club.
Speaking to the media after the game, Ten Hag claimed that he was aware of the results not being close to Manchester United's standards. He added that the injuries have been the main hindrance to his plans this season and said:
"We know that. We have to make our performances consistent and have to do better. A game is 90 minutes and we have to invest from the first minute on. We are hopeful that many players will be back in the new year and they will strengthen the team and the squad. We know the reasons why it is not working. No team can deal with so many issues and injuries we have had. We should still have done better, and we have depth in the squad. When you have so many injuries, the depth is not enough."
The Manchester United manager is hopeful that his side can improve when Harry Maguire, Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez, Mason Mount and Tyrell Malacia return in January. The loss on Saturday was their 9th this season in 20 league matches.
Manchester United were 'not good enough' against Nottingham Forest, admits Ten Hag
Erik ten Hag spoke to the media after the loss to Nottingham Forest and admitted that he was disappointed at the result. He believes that they were not good enough and didn't create enough chances.
He was quoted by the club's official website as saying:
"It's clear the result is very disappointing, I'm also disappointed by the performance before half-time. We should have invested more in such moments. We created less before half-time and we should invest more there, by quicker play and by movements. In the final third, it was not good enough, and we did not invest enough to create chances."
He added:
"When you concede two goals, as a team, you have to defend better and read the game in that moment. Yeah but it's not our biggest worry, that is making and scoring goals. I'm happy we scored one and we created our chances in the second half, by some good football moments."
The loss left Manchester United 7th in the Premier League table with 31 points from 20 matches. They could fall to 9th at the end of the game week if Brighton and Newcastle United win their matches.