Manchester United are still in the process of building their squad and have less depth than many of their Premier League rivals, manager Erik ten Hag said on Friday, blaming injuries for last season's disappointing eighth-place finish.
Earlier this month, Ten Hag extended his contract until 2026 despite speculation he would be sacked after a poor season, which they managed to add some gloss to with FA Cup success at the end of the campaign.
Last season he described a total of 61 games for his club in all competitions as “simply strange”.
“It's too much. We are not the only team that has had problems with injuries, other clubs have had the same luck,” he told Dutch daily Algemeen Dagblad on Friday.
“Last season we had constant injuries to players in the same positions, all in defence. At one point, we had almost no defenders available.
“When we started here, United hadn't won a trophy for six years and it wasn't because they didn't have good coaches here. That does say something about the make-up and quality of the group of players. I knew that when I started, of course, but they were players on long-term contracts.
“We were and still are in that process. [of building]”If you compare our squad to other top Premier League clubs, we are definitely a bit less in terms of depth. That's exactly why we found it so difficult to deal with those injuries.”
Ten Hag's position looked almost untenable as last season drew to a close, but a 2-1 win over Manchester City in the FA Cup final at Wembley appeared to save his job.
“There was a lot going on at the time, but I still firmly believed that we could win that final. The most important thing was to transmit that belief to my team. I had to be careful that the whole atmosphere didn't turn negative beforehand,” said Ten Hag.
The 54-year-old Dutchman admitted the season had left him exhausted but said he was not worried about his future at the club.
“If the United board find someone tomorrow who they think is better, then I'll leave. It's that simple. These are the mechanisms of football that must be respected. In a club like this, it's very clear: if you don't win, you have a problem.
“Let's face it: you lose too many games, it takes strength to keep the team focused and motivated at all times. The players are disappointed, the people around you are disappointed.”
Since last season's disappointing eighth-place finish, there has been a shake-up of the club's staff and Ten Hag suggested better times are ahead.
“If you create the right structures and work well as a team, and if you also have a good relationship with the players, then you know that things will improve again,” he said.
