Manchester United head coach Erik ten Hag addressed former player Cristiano Ronaldo’s criticism of the club’s state of affairs stating that everyone was entitled to their opinion, but is confident of the direction the club are headed in.
Speaking on a show alongside former teammate and United legend Rio Ferdinand, Ronaldo expressed that the Dutchman’s attitude did not befit the stature of a side such as United, the most successful side in England.
“Manchester United coach, you cannot say that you’re not going to fight to win the (Premier) League or Champions League,” the Ballon d’Or winner said.
“You have to be, to mentally say, ‘Listen, maybe we don’t have that potential but I cannot say that. We’re going to try.’ You have to try,” added the Portuguese striker.
However, ten Hag spoke about the place the side was in the process and touched up on the integration of youth into the first team fold.
“So, he’s far away in Saudi, far from Manchester. Everyone is entitled to have an opinion. It’s OK,” the United gaffer said.
“It doesn’t impact me,” he insisted. “I know in the process where we are, what we have to do, where we are going,” he added.
“I have said before we are still in a transition period. We have to integrate a lot of young players also in the team,” the Dutchman added.
United have had to deal with a swathe of injury blows during their nascent season in which the Mancunian side have lost two of the three games they have contested.
Ten Hag laid emphasis on the necessity to take it one game at a time and work towards earning results every time the Reds step out to play.
“We are still dealing with injuries, we have to bring the injuries back in the team. Before anyone thinks about excuses, no, we have to win every game,” the 54-year-old manager said.
“I know that, the team knows this and it doesn’t matter who is available. We will focus on every game and have in every game the mindset that we have to win,” the Dutch coach concluded.