Manchester United legend Jaap Stam did not hold back when he made his feelings perfectly clear over his Premier League prediction for Erik ten Hag’s men.
Erik ten Hag’s side will face Manchester City in the Community Shield on Saturday at Wembley before the start of their 2024-25 Premier League campaign.
Manchester United’s pre-season tour came to an end last Sunday after a 3-0 defeat to Liverpool in their final friendly match in the United States this summer.
The Red Devils will begin their Premier League season on 16th August, with United hosting Fulham at Old Trafford.
Ten Hag will be keen for United to start the campaign with a strong statement, having disappointed with their eighth-place finish in the league last season.
Despite United’s poor league finish, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos retained Ten Hag’s services for the upcoming season after completing their end-of-season review.
Stam sends clear Man Utd prediction
Erik ten Hag inked a new contract extension this summer, with the Dutchman seeing an overhaul to his coaching staff ahead of the new Premier League season.
Ruud van Nistelrooy and Rene Hake both arrived as the new Manchester United assistant managers under Ten Hag.
Ten Hag has also seen the arrival of new summer signings, including Joshua Zirkzee from Serie A outfit Bologna and Leny Yoro from Ligue 1 side Lille.
Speaking ahead of the new season, Jaap Stam admitted that United fans are “kidding ourselves” if top four is the main objective for the Red Devils.
The 52-year-old United legend insisted that United’s top priority should be “winning the league” and urged the club to “invest and make changes” to make it happen.
“You are always hoping that the club is going to be ending up at the top of the league,” Stam told Stretty News.
“That’s how I know United. It’s about winning the league and anything less isn’t enough.
“We can speak about finishing in the top four, but we are kidding ourselves. I think we need to make sure that we are going to be winning the league.
“That is what we are all working for after a couple of years with a new manager.
“They need to invest and make changes. The manager needs to get his team to play in a certain way to compete with the best in the Premier League. That is what United stands for.”
Ratcliffe wants Premier League success
United have failed to lift the Premier League title since Sir Alex Ferguson bowed out of Old Trafford at the end of the 2012-13 season.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who became United co-owner in 2023, has revealed his desire to ‘knock’ both Manchester City and Liverpool ‘off their perch’ in English football.
“We have a lot to learn from our noisy neighbour and the other neighbour,” he said in February, as per The Guardian.
“They are the enemy at the end of the day. There is nothing I would like better than to knock both of them off their perch.”
However, the 71-year-old Ineos chief has admitted that United currently have a “three-year plan” to try and challenge for the league title again.
“The fans would run out of patience if it was a 10-year plan,” Ratcliffe added.
“But it’s certainly a three-year plan to get there. To think that we’re going to be playing football as good as Manchester City played against Real Madrid last year by next season is not sensible. And if we give people false expectations, then they will get disappointed.
“So I think the key thing is our trajectory so that people can see that we’re making progress. Because it’s not easy to turn Manchester United into the world’s best football team.”
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