John Murtough, the football director at Manchester United, has expressed his unwavering support for Erik ten Hag despite a disappointing start to the new season.
This summer, the Red Devils made significant investments, providing their manager with top-quality additions, including Andre Onana as the new No.1 goalkeeper, Rasmus Hojlund as one of Europe’s most promising young strikers, and Mason Mount, an experienced Premier League midfield stalwart.
However, despite these notable acquisitions, United’s performance has been mediocre, and they now face an uphill battle to secure a top-four spot while also being on the brink of elimination from the Champions League group stage.
The situation improved slightly with last weekend’s dramatic comeback against Brentford, but reports had emerged suggesting that Ten Hag was at odds with some senior players due to his strict handling of issues related to Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho.
Murtough acknowledges that the results and performances have been subpar thus far. Still, he emphasized the club’s unwavering faith in Ten Hag, stating, “Clearly, we’ve got work to do to get the men’s team back up to the levels we expect, but we really believe in the manager, his staff, and the players, and their ability to build momentum as the season progresses.”
He further added, “It’s been a disappointing start to the men’s season, although Saturday’s dramatic win against Brentford has given us something to build on after the international break.
Now, we have to show that same drive to turn the season around after the international break, and I know that the manager, players, and staff are absolutely determined to do that.”
With three-quarters of the campaign still ahead and four competitions to compete in, Murtough stressed the importance of maintaining belief, both within the club and among the fans.