Erik ten Hag believes Man United are ‘heading in right direction’ and makes optimistic injury claim

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Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag believes his team are heading in the right direction after a tough start to the season.

The Red Devils are currently sixth in the Premier League, a far cry from the heady heights of last season’s third-place finish, but they are the most in-form side in the division.

A 1-0 win over Luton Town kept up the pace and with multiple big games taking place this weekend, Erik ten Hag has a chance to propel his team to within touching distance of the top four.

The games don’t get any easier for the Red Devils with Sunday’s trip to Everton followed by another tough away fixture against Galatasaray in the Champions League.

Ten Hag on team’s confidence

Speaking to the Manchester United club website, the Dutchman believes there is growing confidence within his team and that his team is “heading in the right direction”.

“We are, say, one-third [through the season],” he says. “It was a tough start, as we’ve seen, but I think we are catching up. And from the last five games we’ve won four. So we are in a good mood and I think we are [heading] in the right direction.

“And now we hope we can more or less stay with the same line-up or with 12 to 14 players, while constructing the line-up, because I think so far that was our difficulty. Every time we had to change and we don’t develop routines. Every time we had to change.”

The belief the Dutchman has in his squad is admirable but if the former Ajax boss believes he can keep the same lineup, he may be mistaken.

United’s injury problems

The Red Devils have been unfortunate with a hefty amount of injuries this season but the United fanbase will be pleased to see Luke Shaw back in full training and Lisandro Martinez back out on grass.

Ten Hag’s belief, however, that he can rely on just 12-14 players throughout the rest of the season is certainly optimistic, to say the least.

With the sheer amount of injuries sustained this season, unless United are booted out of the Champions League, the fixture list is only set to increase as time goes on.

With his key players returning, the hope will be that the Dutchman, and his United team, can put together a similar run of form that they did back in December of last season.