Erik ten Hag says Man United are second best only to Manchester City in the Premier League | OneFootball

Erik ten Hag says Manchester United have progressed under his management.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference ahead of tomorrow’s clash with Liverpool, the manager was asked about whether there are “no excuses” this season, having finished a miserable eighth in the Premier League last term.

“Listen, we won behind City the last two seasons the most trophies – so we performed better than anyone else,” he insisted. “Those are the facts. This year we want to win trophies – and I am quite confident we will build up to this.

“It is what I’ve done for the last 11 years, so I am just patient and waiting…. We will go for trophies.”

“As I have said, not only have we progressed, we also won trophies.

Asked about the “ongoing querying” about how his team plays, he said:

“How a team plays is very subjective, so there’s only one thing in football – and that’s about the end of the season and if you win prizes and trophies or not.

“I repeat myself, after City we won the most trophies in English football.‌

“I don’t care if I get the credit or I don’t get the credit, it’s about having to build this club. We brought young players in, we progressed young players, we won trophies, so what can I do more? As far as I know, the fans are happy with me, but it’s not about me, it’s about Man United – and of course we set higher targets.

“We have very big ambitions, the club, the leadership, the team definitely. So everyone sees the potential – and now we have to work very hard to achieve the targets.”

In the last question, Ten Hag was asked about Harry Maguire and whether he is still a first choice centre back at the club now that Matthijs de Ligt has joined.

“So we have a squad who have more than eleven,” he explained.

“We can only start eleven players and we need rotation throughout the season, to keep everyone fit, because no-one can play every game, but Harry Maguire will definitely play an important role for us.

“I’m very happy for him that he’s back and I think it tells us something about his performances in the last couple of games.”

The first part of the presser is available here.

Tomorrow’s match at Old Trafford kicks off at 4pm UK time.

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