Erik ten Hag sends warning shot to his players as he lays down demand from Ineos, has a message for the fans

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Manchester United will be looking to wash away the stench of a nightmare 2023/24 season salvaged by the FA Cup final victory against Manchester City.

They began the 2024/25 season with a pre-season defeat to Rosenborg which, despite it being a friendly, didn’t sit well with Erik ten Hag.

He demanded more from his players, saying the result is never secondary at United. Now, he has sent another warning shot to his players, while also making a clear demand from Ineos.

Ten Hag also has a message for United fans who are extremely excited about the new structure and new ownership to work their magic at the club.

Ten Hag’s warning to players, demand from Ineos

Injuries were the constant theme of last season at United, as the squad failed to build any momentum from game to game due to the unavailability of key personnel.

Ten Hag lamented this theme, affecting his ability to maximise the results as he was often left wanting in terms of resources.

Ahead of this season, he has already fired a warning shot to the players about his no-prisoners approach.

He said (As quoted by the Mirror): “Especially this season – again, more games, the new model, the new format of Europe – you’ll have more games in a season, more intense games. No winter break and a January that’s very condensed. So you need squad depth. Then it’s more and more about the survival of the fittest.”

Leading directly from this point, the manager has demanded new signings from Ineos, especially to increase the squad depth. He is hopeful that the new structure in place will bear results.

He said: “So when everyone is fit, we already have a good team and can achieve a high level. But also, we know in terms of the depth, we need more players.

“With Sir Dave Brailsford, with Dan (Ashworth), with Jason (Wilcox) and Christopher (Vivell)… You can’t sort it out in such a short slot. But I think it can really accelerate our process. Since last Saturday, Dan has been in and it feels very good. First impressions and the collaboration from the first moment – it’s very good.

“But of course, we have to build our relationship. We are in the transfer window, we are in a reconstructed model now, so we have a lot of work to do.

“We are close together, but it’s only one week, so I can’t make an assessment of how that will work out, but it feels very positive. A good move, good vibe, good spirit. You need this, you see it, this club needs this, this new structure. So I think it will work out very positively.”

He warned fans against “quick-fixes”, stressing that it could be some time before the results of this transformation show on the pitch. The manager also had a thinly veiled shot at the Glazers, terming his two trophy wins in the last two years under the old structure as “big achievements”.

He said: “What we achieved in the structure we had, with the staff we had, it’s a big achievement, but I think we have higher ambitions. We set ourselves higher targets.”

Ten Hag is right, but patience is not unlimited

The fact that Ten Hag still has the job despite United finishing in their worst-ever position in the Premier League era is already a huge show of trust in his abilities.

As he says himself, what he achieved in the old structure was huge, so the natural expectation would be there is an improvement on that with the new structure in place.

Early encouraging signs of the new era can catapult United into momentum as players return from their breaks as well.

However, ultimately, results speak the loudest, and if United keep performing like they did last year, especially tactically, Ten Hag’s calls for patience will ring hollow.

To avoid that, a good start and most importantly, a coherent philosophy of playing football needs to be clear from the outset. Only then can fans have patience for stumbling blocks along the way.