I’m building a team, says Ten Hag after fans jeer draw against Burnley
MANCHESTER United’s young players need time to adapt to the intensity of the Premier League, manager Erik ten Hag said after his decision to substitute Kobbie Mainoo and Rasmus Hojlund during a 1-1 home draw with Burnley was met with jeers from fans.
Antony broke the deadlock in the 79th minute of Saturday’s game to put United ahead, before Burnley substitute Zeki Amdouni scored a late penalty to rescue a point for the relegation-threatened side.
Mainoo and Hojlund were taken off in the 65th minute with the score at 0-0, with Ten Hag saying he substituted the pair to avoid risking an injury.
“It was the right decision and totally logical to bring off very young players who are in their first year of the Premier League and feel some fatigue,” the Dutchman said
“We have some very young players and that’s why we built this club back. That takes time, and we build this by bringing in young players. Hojlund, (Alejandro) Garnacho, Mainoo – they are all in the first season of the Premier League and the league gets more intense year by year.
“I am very impatient, but there we need patience and fans they need patience. We built here a team, and they need experience.”
Ten Hag said United’s current struggles mirrored those of the team in the mid 2000s, when they finished third in the 2003/04 and 2004/05 seasons before winning the Premier League three straight times between 2006 and 2009.
“The great Manchester United team, we forget they were also built. I have seen I think in 2004/05 they also didn’t play that great football,” Ten Hag said.
“They were building, and it takes time, but everyone forgets, even the players who were by that time in the team, they forget they were struggling and that they needed time to progress.”
A VAR decision chalking off what looked to be a late winner for Chelsea at Aston Villa on Saturday has damaged the Premier League, the London club’s manager Mauricio Pochettino said.
His side thought they had completed a remarkable comeback when substitute Axel Disasi netted in second-half stoppage time, but the goal was ruled out after a VAR review penalised a push by Benoit Badiashile in the build-up.
“Me and you and everyone in the stadium watching the game, they didn’t see a foul on the pitch and then VAR changed the decision of the referee. For me, that was a normal challenge. The decision was there and that’s it,” Pochettino told broadcaster TNT after the 2-2 draw.
“For me, it damaged a little bit the Premier League and English (football). If we want to be the best league in the world, it should be protecting the spectacle and the decision ... damaged myself, damaged my team, my players, the fans,” he added.
Villa boss Unai Emery said his side, who are in fourth spot and were seven points ahead of Tottenham Hotspur before Spurs’ match against Arsenal yesterday, still had their sights set on qualifying for next season’s Champions League. Spurs, however, had three games in hand before yesterday’s north London derby.
“We have to try to keep being consistent with the players we have and I believe in the players ... in Premier League we are fighting with Tottenham for fourth position,” he said.