Erik ten Hag admits that his Manchester United team isn’t ready for the start of the season but accepts that he won’t be the only Premier League manager facing the same problem. United commence the new campaign by hosting Fulham at Old Trafford on Friday night, and multiple stars could be set for their debuts under the lights.
Ten Hag has confirmed that Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui – who completed their transfers from Bayern Munich on Tuesday – will feature in the squad.
But he has suggested that he could be hit with some untimely absences for the Premier League curtain-raiser in M16.
“Issues are there, but it’s not about the players who are not available, it’s about the players who are available,” Ten Hag explained on Thursday.
“We have a good group, we can make a strong selection, we can put out a strong team, and we will do.”
Leny Yoro, Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia and Rasmus Hojlund are United’s known absences. Victor Lindelof is currently a doubt after missing the Community Shield defeat against Manchester City.
Ten Hag is positive about Shaw’s injury recovery, confirming he expects his first-choice left-back to return to contention in the near future.
He said: “I think he will return in the short-term; it doesn’t take long. We are looking forward, of course.
“Luke Shaw is a very important player for our team so he’s massive, important, we want to get him back as soon as possible but we can’t force this process.”
However, he has urged those hoping for United to come flying out of the traps to simmer their expectations due to the club’s staggered preparations.
“It’s true [United’s signing will need time to adapt]. It’s not the pre-season where in five to six weeks [you] work on a team; it’s very complicated,” the Dutchman added.
“The USA tour squad, and then we added the players at Euros and Copa America and now new signings and we have to make a team from it.
“That team is not ready, but the league starts and more managers have this problem. Still, we have some room, have some principles and we have to make a start. We can’t hide; we have to deal with it.”
He continued: “We are now working together for, say, 10 days. It will always take a while. More teams will have this problem.
“At the start of the season, the aim is to not drop points, work hard and work hard in and out of possession.
“We have to go from game to game to get to higher performance levels. We will see how quickly we can go through this process.”
