TEN HAG: MANCHESTER UNITED MUST IMPROVE SELF-BELIEF

Erik ten Hag believes Manchester United's "most important" challenge is improving the team's self-belief as they prepare for key fixtures against Porto and Aston Villa this week. Under pressure after a crushing 3-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, Ten Hag has been given the upcoming trips to Porto and Villa Park before the international break to turn things around.

Despite the scrutiny surrounding his position, Ten Hag remains unfazed about the possibility of losing his job. In a recent interview with Sky Sports, he insisted that he is not concerned about his future and emphasized that the club is "together" under the new ownership structure. However, he acknowledges that his side needs to improve on the pitch, especially after United's poor start to the Premier League season, equaling their joint-worst opening six-game record.

“The most important is always keeping the belief,” Ten Hag told Sky Sports. “You stay in the game by keeping the belief. That’s the most important message that we have to give because if you lose your faith, you lose everything. We have to keep going and stick to the plan and move on.”

Ten Hag has reiterated that United are in a "transition" phase but remains confident that the team can still achieve their goals this season. Having secured the Carabao Cup and FA Cup in his first two years in charge, he is optimistic about challenging for silverware again.

"From the moment I came in, we knew we had to change," he said. "We had to replace some older players and bring new players in. Our choice was to bring young players in, and you know that takes time to get the messages on board, to get a game model on board, and to introduce a new culture. That takes time."

While acknowledging the difficulties, Ten Hag stressed the importance of winning even during this transition period. "In the meantime, you have to win, and I think we have proven in the last two years, and we win," he said. "And I’ve proven in my career that always I will win. The last six years I have [won] eight trophies."

He believes that once the team's game model and structure are fully embedded, United will be in a strong position to meet their targets for the season. "We have to embed the game model, we have to embed a stronger team as we have now, and so we have to work on our problems and give the solutions," he added. "We have a good potential on players, so once it’s embedded, we will go, and we will drive, and I’m sure we will achieve the targets we have set for this season. That is always winning trophies and finishing as high as possible in the league because that is definitely a very important purpose for us."

As United brace for the challenging matches ahead, Ten Hag remains calm about the possibility of further setbacks. "I’m not thinking about it, I’m not anxious. We are together," he stated. "We created a togetherness in the summer with the ownership and the leadership. We made this agreement, and we were all behind it. We also know the strategy, young players in a transition period."

Ten Hag concluded with confidence in his long-term plan, pointing to his record of success. "They also know in the end, when we are in May, in all my last six seasons, always there were trophies. That is what we are also now aiming for."