Ten Hag Cautions On Man Utd's Slow Start Amid Pre-Season Hurdles

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Erik ten Hag has cautioned that Manchester United might experience a sluggish start to the season as they strive to prepare for the new campaign. The Red Devils are set to face their fierce rivals, Manchester City, in the Community Shield at Wembley Stadium on Saturday. This match follows their victory over City in the FA Cup final at the same venue in May.

Ten Hag anticipates a challenging beginning against City and then Fulham, who will visit Old Trafford for United's league opener. Key players like Bruno Fernandes, Alejandro Garnacho, and Lisandro Martinez missed United's pre-season tour of the United States due to international duties.

The United manager expressed concerns about the lack of time spent together as a team. "We have to work on our game model to find the patterns," Ten Hag said ahead of the season opener at Wembley. He noted that many players participated in different tournaments like Euros and Copa America, which disrupted their usual game models and patterns.

Ten Hag acknowledged that other teams with fewer international players could have a more structured pre-season, putting them ahead of United. "We have to deal with this in the coming weeks without dropping points," he added.

Manchester United will be without new defensive signings Leny Yoro and Rasmus Hojlund due to injuries. Additionally, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Victor Lindelof, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka are doubtful for the match against Pep Guardiola's side. This leaves Martinez, Jonny Evans, and Diogo Dalot as United's only fit senior defenders.

Despite these challenges, Ten Hag remains optimistic about overcoming their dominant neighbours once again. "We know already we can beat City and that is not dependent on the result on Saturday; that will not change that belief," he stated.

Belief in Beating City

The Dutchman emphasised that their FA Cup victory was a more significant occasion than the upcoming game on Saturday. "Nevertheless, we want to win but we showed on occasions we can beat City," he added. Ten Hag stressed the importance of not risking players' health for short-term gains.

"We don't want to take a risk with players and lose them for long periods because that is what we have to take from last season," he explained. The manager highlighted how injuries affected results last season when many players were missing from the same team unit.

Ensuring player availability is crucial for achieving good results this season. Ten Hag is determined to manage his squad carefully to avoid repeating last season's injury woes.