Man Utd still ‘far away’ from winning PL and CL trophies – Erik ten Hag

Erik ten Hag has insisted Manchester United are still “a long way” from winning the Premier League and claimed Ralf Rangnick’s assessment that the club needed open-heart surgery was correct.

Rangnick was scathing about United towards the end of his interim spell as manager during the 2021-22 season.

Austria’s current coach Rangnick stated more than two years ago that the “attitude and energy” at Old Trafford had to change. Ten Hag reflected on his predecessor’s comments in an extensive interview with Dutch daily AD Sportwereld.

“Rangnick was absolutely right. We worked very hard on that for two years, but he said it exactly right,” said Ten Hag, who won the Carabao Cup and FA Cup during his two seasons as manager, amid intense speculation about his job.

“Our standards still need to be raised.

“I knew when I started that it would be a tough job. There are many people who advised me. Louis van Gaal too.

“We want to get this club back to where it was more than a decade ago, to a club that wins the Premier League, that can win Champions Leagues. We are still a long way from that, I think.

“I think we have made progress since then, otherwise we would not have won two trophies, but we are not yet at the point where we have a ‘winning culture’ in all respects.

“Our standards, our values, we still have to go up. I wasn’t shocked (by what I inherited). But the culture, the mentality was really not good. To win, to really perform at the top every week, we had to change a lot.”

Ten Hag also discussed the situation of Jadon Sancho, who has been welcomed into the first team and played a role in Saturday’s 2-0 friendly win over Rangers.

“We had a good talk. Anyone can make a mistake,” said Ten Hag.

“This club needs good players, and one thing is for sure: Jadon Sancho is a very good player. I hope we can still click and that he contributes to our success.”