Erik ten Hag says Manchester United's ambition is to win the Premier League, claiming they have only been outperformed by rivals Manchester City since his arrival in 2022.
The Dutchman has led the club to Carabao Cup and FA Cup wins in their first two seasons, but finished a disappointing eighth in May.
United begin their campaign at home to Fulham on Friday night with Ten Hag looking to improve on his poor form. Premier League “We also won two trophies, which gave us the confidence that we are capable of winning,” said Ten Hag when asked if they can use last season’s league disappointment as motivation.
“With these two titles we have won more than any other club apart from City in England. We are confident, we have a good team, we have a good squad. We have to be more consistent and we want to win all the competitions we take part in, certainly the Premier League as well.”
The club was strengthened this week by the arrival from Bayern Munich of defenders Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui, who worked with Ten Hag at Ajax. Captain Bruno Fernandes is also signed a contract extension at Old Trafford.
“He has fantastic potential,” Ten Hag said of De Ligt. “Matthijs turned 25 this week and has almost 375 games for Ajax, Juventus and Bayern Munich under his belt, which is incredible and he is now entering his prime years. He has great skills as a footballer and as a character and personality. I am very happy to have him here.”
Like much of last season, United begin the campaign without two left-backs after Luke Shaw was ruled out for the opening weeks with a calf injury, while Tyrell Malacia remains unavailable after missing last season. Those absences could see Mazraoui make his debut against Fulham.
Shaw missed the final four months of the 2023-24 season with a hamstring problem before playing for England at the European Championships and returning to United, where he has averaged 19 league appearances a season during his decade at Old Trafford. “The first season I was here he played a lot of games so I’m very confident we’ll get him fit,” Ten Hag said of Shaw. “He’s only 29, he’s played a lot of games for Manchester United already. When I speak to Luke, he’s very committed, very attached. I have a strong belief that he’ll come back quickly and contribute at our level.”
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Rasmus Højlund will miss the game with a thigh injury, but Ten Hag is unlikely to start another new signing, Joshua Zirkzee. Fernandes started further up the pitch against City in the Community Shield Ten Hag could also choose Marcus Rashford as a centre-forward. “I’m very happy to have those options, which suit all units, all positions, we need several players for the season,” said Ten Hag. “We think about 60 games so it will be a matter of survival of the fittest, we need depth in the squad. You have to make decisions and you need rotation. No player can play every game, but there is also internal competition and you also need some weapons to use tactically.”
