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A lot was expected from Erik ten Hag in his second season after he brought Manchester United back to the Champions League while ending the club’s trophy drought via their Carabao Cup triumph in his debut campaign.
However, the current season has unraveled fast with injuries and loss of form leading to the club exiting Europe in embarrassing fashion as they finished bottom of their group.
The Red Devils also suffered an early exit from the Carabao Cup while they are sitting in ninth place in the Premier League, a full 11 points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur.
With key players returning from injury, the Dutchman will be hoping his side can bring back some consistency and they can start climbing up the table.
Path back into Europe
The English top-flight has thrown up some major surprises during the course of the season with the lesser fancied teams getting results against the big guns.
United, themselves, have faced defeat against Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest and this is exactly why Ten Hag is not giving up hope of an almost miraculous top-four finish at the end of the campaign.
“We want to win, first of all, all the games,” Ten Hag told TNT Sports. “But of course we want to be in the Champions League, and therefore we have to catch up – we are all aware of this.
“But also you see in this Premier League everyone is killing everyone, so that gives the opportunity.”
The 20-time English league champions are also alive in the FA Cup, having overcome Newport County in the fourth round to set up a tie against either of Nottingham Forest or Bristol City in Round 5.
Winning the Cup could hand the club a backdoor entry into Europe, something Ten Hag acknowledged as being something the club is keeping in mind.
“And then we have also the FA Cup, and that can be a shortcut to a trophy, but also for European football.”
Judging by the way the team has played this season, a knockout tournament offers the best chance of making it to Europe rather than the league.
Return of key players
With the likes of Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro and Luke Shaw back from injury, there is a lot of hope that the team can deliver on the promise they showed last season.
Ten Hag also feels the same and believes the more matches they play and remain injury-free, the better the team will perform.
“We are happy that they are returning, what they need in this moment is matches, matches on the highest levels.
“They need the games to go into high levels, because of course they missed some games, some rhythm. To go to their normal levels, and even to go to their maximum levels, they need the games and we need a consistent team to work on that.”
Having the ability to pick his strongest XI has been a luxury for the Dutchman and he finally has the chance to pick a stable team going forward.
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