‘You can’t hide’: Experienced Man Utd ace issues stern reminder amid club’s dismal run of form

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·26 febbraio 2025

‘You can’t hide’: Experienced Man Utd ace issues stern reminder amid club’s dismal run of form

Playing for Manchester United needs to mean something.

Unfortunately, this has downgraded over the years through poor seasons and even worse on-field performances. Reclaiming true top-tier status will take some doing at this point. While some may point to two trophies under Erik ten Hag, many correctly view the level as nowhere near high enough at this point, despite these accomplishments.

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Christian Eriksen is a quality footballer with valuable experience. His insight is greatly valuable, even if he isn’t seeing as many minutes. The Danish player shared his outlook on the current season. But his assessment sheds an interesting light. In particular, his remarks about the most recent successes offer important insight.

Wisdom from current Man Utd vet

(Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

At over 300 Premier League games, fans should listen when the #14 jersey holder speaks. In a sitdown interview with the club, the 33-year-old was asked about winning competitions outside of the EPL. Eriksen explained what the focus will always need to be at Man Utd:

It’s also the point that players, where you can’t hide behind the trophy. I think we still need to show ourself and do better in the Prem, which of course is the main thing to be able to get some bigger tophies later on.

Winning domestic cups should be celebrated. However, the litmus test will always need to have a pass or fail metric through the final league standings. Man Utd needs to be playing in the Champions League. Furthermore, the Red Devils should always be in contention for an EPL title.

Winning in other places is nice. The players deserve credit for all triumphs. But these have to be considered secondary in the grand scheme of things.

Acknowledging lapsed standards

Recent past seasons have been so poor. Yes, Erik ten Hag won the FA Cup and EFL Cup. He even finished third in league play. However, the second season saw his side finish outside of CL qualification, and the third campaign was a disaster.

More importantly, even during these minor feats of success, a larger issue remained. Man Utd never truly looked like they belonged when on the pitch against the top-quality clubs. The play lacked inspiration. And in truth, a positive result was more fortunate than anything when it did come against the better teams.

So when Eriken says, “In the end, we can’t hide behind that,” this is what he is referring to. The ancillary competitions have to maintain their backseat position. At least comparatively to both finishing in the top four and looking like a European giant against those sides who currently are.

Resting exclusively on other competition victories is too shortsighted. Acknowledge and celebrate wins in other tournaments. But the Man Utd players and fanbase cannot become complacent. Eriksen knows what the ultimate goals and focus need to be. Pretending otherwise does the Old Trafford faithful a disservice.