Erik ten Hag insisted he can turn Manchester United’s season around after they fell to an insipid 2-0 defeat at West Ham at the London Stadium.
United, who have lost 13 times in all competitions this season, dropped to eighth in the Premier League after another blunt display. They have not scored in four consecutive games and their £72m striker, Rasmus Højlund, was substituted in the 57th minute, but Ten Hag pointed to injuries when he was asked about his future.
“We have issues,” United’s manager said. “We have many setbacks, injuries, etc. But the players on the pitch are good enough to win games. It is about getting into the box. Make sure you are there. Have the willingness to arrive there and to score a goal.”
“We didn’t score the goal. We needed the first goal. We were controlling the game and didn’t give West Ham anything. We created three good chances and didn’t take them. One moment of switching off and we are down and losing the game.”
Ten Hag, who said he did not see Marcus Rashford walking off without acknowledging United’s travelling support, backed his misfiring forwards. “They are capable of it,” he said. “I know Rashford can score, Højlund can score, Garnacho can score, Bruno Fernandes can score, Scott McTominay can score. We have scoring abilities in our squad and also from set plays. At this moment we’re not doing it. They have to stick together and believe in themselves.”
- Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhone or the Google Play store on Android by searching for 'The Guardian'.
- If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you’re on the most recent version.
- In the Guardian app, tap the Menu button at the bottom right, then go to Settings (the gear icon), then Notifications.
- Turn on sport notifications.
Højlund is yet to score a league goal since his £72m move from Atalanta last summer. “He’s a very strong character,” Ten Hag said. “He can deal with that stress. I took him off, he was ill during the week so had a little lack of power. I protected him. We have to play two more games this week. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves.”
David Moyes celebrated after late goals from Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus moved West Ham above United. “We’ve got 30 points,” West Ham’s manager said. “It’s a brilliant number of points for us at West Ham because we are not going to be a club rattling right at the top.
“We’ll try to, but until we keep growing and improving a bit every year that’s all we can do. I think we’re making pretty good strides and today was another good victory. We can do better but while we’re doing that we’re still picking up points.”
