Ten Hag blasts "not good enough" Man Utd after crisis-ridden start to season
Erik ten Hag has conceded Manchester United's start to the season has not been good enough and called on his players to "step up" ahead of their Champions League tie against Bayern Munich.
The Red Devils have travelled to Munich and will face off with the Bundesliga behemoths on Wednesday night to mark the first game of the group stages. United come into the game off the back of two successive Premier League defeats against Arsenal and Brighton respectively.
Therefore, hopes are hardly high among the Old Trafford faithful going into a clash against the reigning German champions. Bayern are arguably even stronger than last season after the high-profile, £100m acquisition of former Tottenham talisman Harry Kane.
Ten Hag is well aware of the challenge that awaits his players at the Allianz arena and has been particularly scathing in his assessment of how the season has started. "We're not happy or satisfied, that's for sure," he claimed. "What we have delivered is not good enough and we need to step up."
The United boss was also pressed for comment on United's own pursuit of Kane last summer, which of course ended up with the Red Devils missing out after refusing to cough up Tottenham's asking price. They soon diverted their attentions to Rasmsus Hojlund and lured the 20-year-old away from Atalanta for a £72m fee.
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Asked if he harboured any regrets over failing to sign Kane, Ten Hag bluntly replied: "No." He did go on to praise the impact Hojlund has had so far.
"I think we discussed it in San Diego. I don't think we have to repeat this debate. We are happy with Rasmus [Hojlund]. Obviously in the first games he was injured.
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Manchester United eventually opted to sign Rasmus Hojlund instead of Harry Kane, now at Bayern Munich (Getty Images)"He [has] played now against Arsenal and now he has had his first start. Now, of course, have to integrate him into the team. But you can see he is a big talent and he will contribute to our game. We are quite confident about that."
Ten Hag was also asked whether he felt like he needed to oversee a major reset to kickstart United's season, but insisted the club are edging closer to finding the form required for a club of the Red Devils stature.
The best route to inspire a significant turnaround would be a shock win at the Allianz, especially as United currently languish 13th in the Premier League table and a boost in Europe could hand Ten Hag's side some much-needed confidence
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