Ten Hag responds to Man Utd sack talk; tells Dutch media what his side have ‘difficulty’ doing

Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag has responded talk of pressure building on his job after the Red Devils were held to a 1-1 draw against FC Twente on Wednesday night.

The new-look group phase of the Europa League began with Man Utd taking on the club their manager spent a combined 23 years with across three spells as a player and then as a coach.

Ten Hag’s reunion started well enough as Man Utd midfielder Cristian Eriksen thundered the hosts into a first-half lead at a sold-out Old Trafford.

But Man Utd lost their way after the break and the experienced midfielder’s error allowed Sam Lammers to seal a famous 1-1 draw for the Eredivisie outfit .

That has piled the pressure back on Ten Hag after a mixed start to the new campaign with the Red Devils struggling to show any signs of improvement.

A 3-0 loss to arch-rivals Liverpool before the international break had Ten Hag in a difficult position before two wins and a draw against Southampton, League One side Barnsley in the League Cup and Crystal Palace eased the pressure.

But the heat is back on Ten Hag after a disappointing performance against Eredivisie side Twente with some supporters insisting it’s only a matter of time before he is sacked.

When asked about pressure from the media and Man Utd legends, Ten Hag told Ziggo Sport : “If you lose at the top, you always have a problem, no matter which coach. The board knows that we are in a process and that we are building. It is much calmer now. If we are a few months further, I think we can really build a nice team.

“I’m used to that. That was the case at Ajax and it’s the case here. These are clubs that are always in the spotlight. Everyone has an opinion about it. You have to deal with that and not let it distract you: just keep working stoically.”

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Ten Hag added: “We really have difficulty scoring, that needs to improve. We create a lot of chances, but we have difficulty scoring.”

Man Utd’s mentality was questioned against Twente but it is not the first time and Ten Hag said in another interview: “Yeah, I think often the mentality is very good from this team.

“I saw in many games how high our work rate is. That is often very good but today, yeah, I have some criticism.

“But that is not only the team, I have to look in the mirror as well. I’m part of it.

“We should have acted different, especially I think second half, as I said, you have to kill the game, especially if you know we have some problems in scoring goals.

“If you have a goal, then you need to be consistent in your game.”