Erik ten Hag has sent an “important message” to his Manchester United players after their humiliating 3-0 defeat to Tottenham at Old Trafford on Sunday.
The 54-year-old Manchester United manager has overseen a disappointing start to the 2024-25 Premier League season after inking a new deal in the summer.
United languish in 13th place in the Premier League table and the Red Devils have only collected seven points from a possible 18 on offer so far.
Erik ten Hag’s side have only won twice in their opening six league matches this season and the United boss is now under mounting pressure to turn things around.
United suffered a crushing loss to Tottenham on the weekend and Ten Hag’s men failed to put up a convincing fight against Spurs at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils’ Europa League campaign also had a shaky start last week after United dropped valuable points in a 1-1 draw to FC Twente at home.
Ten Hag on his ‘most important’ problem
Manchester United resume their Europa League campaign on Thursday with their away trip to the Estadio do Dragao for their clash with Porto.
Following the trip to Portugal, Erik ten Hag’s men return to Premier League action on Sunday with their away match against Aston Villa.
Ten Hag has been under-fire over United’s run of form and lack of consistency in the 2024-25 campaign, with the former Ajax boss needing his side to bounce back.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the United manager was asked what kind of problems he thinks he faces after the Red Devils’ poor start to the season.
Ten Hag insisted that it is always “important” to keep “belief” and urged his United players to “stick to the plan and move on.”
“The most important is always keeping the belief,” he said.
“You stay in the game by keeping the belief. That’s the most important message that we have to give because if you lose your faith, you lose everything.
“We have to keep going and stick to the plan and move on.”
Ten Hag on belief and confidence
Ten Hag sent a rallying call to his underperforming players and claimed that both belief and confidence are as fundamentally as important as each other.
“For me, belief and confidence, it has to do with each other,” he explained.
“You always need to believe. To believe as an individual and believe in your teammate. Believe in your team and believe in the plan you execute.
“That is absolutely what you need as a team when you go into a game and during a game. You have to keep this always.”
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