Under-fire Erik ten Hag pleaded for fans to stay patient after misfiring Manchester United blew a late lead against relegation-threatened Burnley at an unhappy Old Trafford.
Things have gone off the boil since United won the Carabao Cup, reached the FA Cup final and finished third in the Premier League during a promising first season under the Dutchman.
United are scrapping for Europa League qualification having already blown their Champions League hopes, with May’s FA Cup final against Manchester City offering a chance to end a poor campaign on a high.
That may not prove enough to keep Ten Hag in the job under ambitious Ineos, who watched the Red Devils surrender another advantage in Saturday’s 1-1 home draw with struggling Burnley.
Boos greeted the final whistle having earlier echoed even louder when Kobbie Mainoo was replaced by Scott McTominay as part of a second-half double switch that also saw Rasmus Hojlund taken off.
The United boss defended that decision and called for patience, saying he needed to protect players who form the core of a young side from injury.
“We have some very young players and that’s why we built this club back,” Ten Hag said. “That takes time, and we build this by bringing in young players.
🗣️ "We gave the win away."
Erik shares his verdict after the Reds were held by the Clarets at Old Trafford ⤵️#MUFC || #MUNBUR
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) April 27, 2024
“Rasmus Hojlund, Alejandro Garnacho, Kobbie Mainoo – they are all in the first season of the Premier League and the Premier League gets more intense year by year.
“We have seen the data and it’s much more intense than last season, especially when you see over the last four or five seasons. Those players have to adjust and that takes time.
“I am sorry for everyone. So, I am very impatient but there we need patience and fans they need patience. We built here a team, and they need experience.
“The mental (side), when you get fatigue you have to keep focus until the end.
“Also, this season there was an extra effect that they do extra time (added on). It is often seven, eight, nine, 10 minutes so bringing more minutes in the game, to keep tempo in the game as well.
“Therefore, it is intense and more volume and that is a limit they have to cross, and they only get it by experiences.”
Ten Hag believes the benefits of this bumpy season will be evident in the years to come as United’s young players prosper.
Asked if it was off the mark to compare his developing side to United teams of the past, he said: “Oh, absolutely. They are way off the mark.
“But also the great Manchester United team, we forget they were also built. I have seen I think in 2004-05 they also didn’t play that great football.
There was a lot going on today in the contest for European places…
⚒️ West Ham hold Liverpool to a draw⚫️ Newcastle earned a resounding win against Sheffield Utd🔴 Man Utd could only finish level at home to Burnley🤝 Aston Villa and Chelsea play out an entertaining draw pic.twitter.com/VyTY1NBAIs
— Premier League (@premierleague) April 27, 2024
“They were building, and it takes time, but everyone forgets, even the players who were by that time in the team, they forget they were struggling and that they needed time to progress.”
Those growing pains saw Ten Hag’s injury-hit outfit waste Antony’s 79th-minute opener as substitute Zeki Amdouni to score from the spot having been fouled by Andre Onana.
The late leveller means Burnley have only lost one of their last eight Premier League fixtures, leaving them two points off safety with three matches to play.
Nottingham Forest will extend that to five points if they win their game in hand on Sunday against Manchester City, whose former captain Vincent Kompany was proud of the Clarets’ Old Trafford efforts.
“If we come here playing with Real Madrid, I might be debating with who has chances,” the Burnley boss said.
“For me, we had big chances, we showed team spirit. Burnley did themselves proud today. That’s all that matters.
“The energy, the sacrifice as well from players for each other was there and for Burnley that’s massive.”
Let's start our Daily Laugh today. Let's see at the statistics of the 4 Lords. And Man City are back. PSG are reportedly helping save Lyon from RELEGATION to Ligue 2! PALMEIRAS BEAT BOTAFOGO IN EXTRA TIME TO REACH THE LAST EIGHT OF THE CLUB WORLD CUP Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami have The HARDEST ROUTE to The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup FINAL! It took a long delay and extra time, but Chel...
Williams demands guarantee from Barca amid fears of Olmo situationAccording to Marca, Nico Williams has reportedly informed Athletic Club through his agent that he wants to don the Barcelona shirt from next season and is close to signing a six-year contract. However, the player reportedly wants a guarantee from Barca that they will be able to register him with La Liga after triggering his release ...
ATLANTA -- Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique warned his players against ignoring the offensive threats of Inter Miami in Sunday's Club World Cup round-of-16 match, emphasizing the damage that can be done by experienced stars Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets."Anyone who relaxes for 10 seconds in football already knows where they are. It's not like there's no dou...
Arsenal finished second in the Premier League for a third successive season in 2024-25 – but the fact that Liverpool leapfrogged them was undoubtedly frustrating.In 2022-23, the Gunners were runners-up with 84 points, five points behind champions Manchester City. A year later, they improved to 89 points, closing the gap to Pep Guardiola's side to two points.The 2024-25 campaign looked like t...
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim is reportedly keen to bring in his former colleague Acacio Valentim as part of a coaching reshuffle.The Portuguese boss is eager to avoid another disappointing season following a wretched first year in charge. In his debut season, Amorim led the Red Devils to a 14th place finish in the Premier League and suffered defeat in the Europa League final against Spur...
Cristiano Ronaldo to join up with Portuguese boss at Al-NassrAl-Nassr have reached an agreement with veteran Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus and look set to announce him as their new manager.The Saudi Pro League club have been looking for a new manager following Stefano Pioli’s decision to step down and return to Italy with Fiorentina.Jesus, 70, who left Al-Hilal at the end of the 2024-25 campa...
Raphinha keen to see Nico Williams at BarcelonaBarcelona winger Raphinha was full of praise for reported target Nico Williams as the club step up their pursuit of the Spain international.Barcelona are working tirelessly to bring the 22-year-old to the Camo Nou having been heavily linked with him for the past two years.Williams is understood to be keen on the move but his current club, Athletic, ar...
Alexander-Arnold: Real Madrid won't take Juventus lightlyTrent Alexander-Arnold says Real Madrid players are determined to win the Club World Cup.Real will meet Juventus in the tournament's round of 16 this weekend.New fullback signing Alexander-Arnold declared: "Both are very good teams (City and Juve), not least because they made it through the group stage."It's always going to be tough, no matt...
Pogba drops fresh Monaco move teaser onlinePaul Pogba has hinted he's set to undergo his medical with AS Monaco.The France international is due to sign for Monaco as a free agent after he passes his medical tests in the Principality.Pogba has dropped a hint on social media about his activities amid reports that he is due in France this weekend to complete his return to football.Pogba posted a self...
Raphinha happy to see Barcelona miss out on FIFA Club World CupBarcelona ace Raphinha has criticised the sheer number of game top clubs are having to play as the FIFA Club World Cup reaches the latter stages.Barcelona missed out on a place in the FIFA Club World Cup due to their poor performances in recent Champions League campaign.Raphinha doesn’t appear to be too bothered, however, hitting...
- 1 Transfer news & rumours LIVE
- 2 Club World Cup 2025: Benfica v Chelsea predictions, best bets and odds
- 3 Raphinha happy to see Barcelona miss out on FIFA Club World Cup
- 4 Transfer news & rumours LIVE
- 5 Arsenal interested in signing Cristhian Mosquera
- 6 Wayne Rooney gets Erling Haaland ponytail in shock new look
- 7 Arsenal have little chance of Liverpool target
- 8 Mystery blonde who had night out with Kieran Trippier
- 9 Man United close in on Bryan Mbeumo
- 10 Chelsea transfer at 'final stages'