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Ten Hag: Critics inventing 'lies and fairytales' about Man Utd

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Oct 18, 2024Football

Erik ten Hag claims his critics have invented "lies and fairytales" about his Manchester United tenure as his Old Trafford future continues to be questioned.

Ten Hag has overseen United's worst-ever start to a Premier League season, with the Red Devils emerging from the international break with just eight points from seven games.

They have also failed to score in any of their last three league matches – losing 3-0 at home to Tottenham between goalless draws with Crystal Palace and Aston Villa.

There were suggestions Ten Hag's future was up for discussion when members of United's new leadership group – including Jim Ratcliffe – met with Joel Glazer during the hiatus, but the Dutchman is bullish regarding his position.

Asked if he had received assurances regarding his future from United's hierarchy, Ten Hag said on Friday: "No.

"The noises came from the media, some of you, not all of you. Some of you are coming up with stories, creating stories, creating fairytales, bringing noise, bringing lies.

"I know we are all on one page at this club. I've said this before the break to some journalists who probably didn't believe me as I saw the reports. Internally at the club it's quiet.

"Of course we are discussing the position we are in and we're unhappy with that. We have to turn the corner and that's the strategy to turn this corner. 

"We are quiet and composed, we stick to the plan and are convinced we will turn the corner.

"Underneath I see good things, good patterns and good stats that confirm we are in a good direction, but the ranking is not lying. We are where we are and that's not good enough."

United's underlying metrics, however, do not make for encouraging reading for Ten Hag.

The Red Devils' tally of 11.11 expected goals (xG) this campaign is only good enough to rank them eighth in the Premier League, behind Saturday's opponents Brentford.

Meanwhile, only six teams – three of whom are yet to win – have conceded more expected goals against (xGA) than United's 11.54.

Opta's expected points model, meanwhile, suggests United's performances have only warranted a marginal upturn, with their figure of 10.4 expected points only putting them 10th.