Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag insists that his team are ‘ready for the season’ despite failing two win any of their final three summer friendlies.
United started with a statement 4-0 victory over Liverpool in Ten Hag’s first game in charge back in the middle of July. They followed that up with further wins over Melbourne Victory and Crystal Palace, but threw away a 2-0 lead against Aston Villa, before a defeat to Atletico Madrid.
In the club’s final pre-season game, and Ten Hag’s first at Old Trafford, a largely young United side were held to a 1-1 draw by Rayo Vallecano.
But while Ten Hag has previously expressed disappointment with results or particular moments in games, overall he seems to have an optimistic outlook ahead of the Premier League season starting next weekend.
“I think we [have had] a good pre-season. We make good progress. We are ready for the season. I know there is still room for improvement. We have to improve and that is also a process that continues during the season,” he said, via ManUtd.com.
“But, for next week, it’s about the result as well,” he added, referring to United’s opening game at home against Brighton on Sunday.
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Ten Hag also has high expectations for new signing Lisandro Martinez.
“I think it was a really good combination with Rapha [Varane] and they played really solid. That was good to see. Always the question is how do you integrate and I think he can integrate quite well into the team,” the boss explained.
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