Erik ten Hag spoke after Arsenal's 1-0 win at Old Trafford handed them a record ninth home defeat of the season and left United as outsiders in the race to qualify for Europe. “It's like swimming with your hands on your back,” the Manchester United manager said.
Leandro Trossard's first-half goal put Arsenal top of the Premier League heading into the final week of the season, but FA Cup finalists United have lost their last nine games in all competitions to relegated Sheffield United. They won only one match.
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The injury crisis in the defense has forced Ten Hag to once again deploy midfielder Casemiro at centre-half, while a number of high-profile players have been substituted, including Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford, Harry Maguire and Mason Mount. A player was absent due to injury.
But former Ajax manager ten Hag said his job was becoming increasingly difficult, citing the club's disastrous season with injury problems.
“Any manager can always do better, but this is my second year here and I've only had a full squad of players once. To take a team forward with so many injuries. I can't do that,” Ten Hag said. “It’s like swimming with your hands behind your back. You have to keep your head above water and that’s what we try to do.
“It shouldn't be like this, but you go back to all the issues we have and then you analyze the performance. We need to make sure we were competitive. Yes, but of course that's not what you want, we have to win, we've got to win every game.
“But we're not in this position at the moment and definitely not with this team with the injuries.”
United can qualify for the Europa Conference League by beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final later this month, but they must beat sixth-placed Newcastle at Old Trafford on Wednesday to realistically qualify for the Europa League. There is. Seventh-placed Chelsea could also lift United into the Europa League.
Ten Hag said it would be damaging for United to miss out on Europe altogether for the first time in 10 years.
“It's very harmful,” he said. “That's the situation we're in, but we can still get there. We all know that no matter how serious the problems are, we have a chance to accept them and fight. “That's what I'm doing.”
“We should deserve it, especially since the fans will be following us on Monday.” [at Crystal Palace]“They understand the position we are in. They have been behind us since the first whistle today and they know the team needs help and support. We are united because we understand, and that is a very good thing.”
