Ten Hag clear on Man Utd's January transfer headache after Champions League exit
Erik ten Hag has admitted he is desperate for more depth in quality in his Manchester United squad after their dismal exit from the Champions League.
The Red Devils won just one game in the group stages and their defeat to Bayern Munich on Tuesday condemned them to a bottom-place finish. While Ten Hag made use of all five of his permitted substitutes, they failed to have much of an impact.
Instead, Kingsley Coman's second-half goal ensured United will play no further part in European competition this season. And the Red Devils boss had insisted that his side's lengthy injury list means that he is struggling with a lack of depth.
“That’s clear," he told TNT Sports when asked if his options off the bench were limited. "The players gave everything – you saw the spirit and, as I said, I have to credit the team.
"Big compliment for the way they worked together as a team against this good Bayern side. But, of course, when the game is going, you need energy from the bench, and especially in the frontline, the options were limited.”
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Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw were forced off with injury in the first-half of the defeat to Bayern. Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial both missed the game through illness, while Victor Lindelof was absent through a different issue, despite training on Monday.
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Erik ten Hag has admitted the quality of his substitutes is not at the level he wants (Alex Dodd - CameraSport via Getty Images)While he bemoaned the number of the absences, Ten Hag also insisted it was the quality of the missing players that was harming the squad. The United boss was clear that he is not using it as an excuse, but clearly believes it is the main reason for their struggles.
“I think it's not only about talking about that campaign, then you come to the same things. So, why did this happen? I would say it's a symbol today, we have to make subs, and we're losing players," he added.
"We're losing players who are very decisive for our game who can make the difference. I think it was, in many games, also the case in this campaign that we’ve not always had the players available we want to play.
"And that's definitely a part but now I give you a reason but don’t see it as an excuse. Because even when we are not all on board, we still have to win because that is the targets that belong to Manchester United.
“I look to my team and, yeah, we had opportunities in games and we were in winning positions. I think we scored many goals. But then also, we have to see we gave it away sometimes by individual errors, but by not one player, but by more players.
"We gave the opponent opportunities to return. But also we had very good spells in such games. And the facts are we have not enough points. So, that is of course disappointing. We are disappointed as a group, and as a manager I’m disappointed."
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