Erik ten Hag reflects on keeping calm despite rough start to Manchester United tenure - ‘I didn’t panic’

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has said that he never panicked in the first few months of the job, despite a difficult start to his tenure. Ten Hag got off to a catastrophic start as United manager, losing the season-opener at home to Brighton before getting thrashed 4-0 away at Brentford.

Ad Difficult results followed in the following weeks, including a home defeat against Real Sociedad and a 6-3 hammering by rivals Manchester City in the derby, but Ten Hag has turned things around since then. TransfersMan Utd and Tottenham handed major boost in Raya pursuit — Paper RoundYESTERDAY AT 00:02 They are now third in the Premier League table, eight points behind leaders Arsenal with a game in hand, and on Sunday, they beat Newcastle United in the final of the League Cup for their first piece of silverware since the departure of Jose Mourinho.

Speaking at his press conference ahead of the midweek clash with West Ham, Ten Hag said he never panicked, despite the struggles. «I know from experience of previous jobs, it takes time before you get into a way of playing, before you get into the rules of principles,» he said.

«The right results weren't there at the start of the season. I didn't panic because it was part of the process.

»You find out a lot in those weeks — when you lose it's not nice, you hate to lose, but you also get some good lessons." The Best FIFA Awards: Who voted for who? Messi and Deschamps do not vote for Mbappe Messi wins Best FIFA Men's Player Award ahead of Mbappe and Benzema 'Many things will happen' — Guardiola expecting twists in title race Ten Hag added that after the result over Newcastle he told his team they had to “get back to work”, despite allowing them to celebrate for a little while. «Of