Erik ten Hag finished a disappointing Premier League season with a win on Sunday (Picture: Getty Images)
Erik ten Hag has heaped praise on the Manchester United fans for their support through ‘good times and bad times’ after the club’s worst league finish since 1990.
The Red Devils ended the league campaign on a high, with a 2-0 win at Brighton thanks to goals from Diogo Dalot and Rasmus Hojlund.
However, as Newcastle won at Brentford it meant that Manchester United finish eighth in the Premier League, their worse finish since 1989/90 when they ended the season 13th.
The Dutchman says he has felt the support throughout the season despite the mixed results and wants to deliver them a reward at the FA Cup final next weekend against Manchester City.
‘They are amazing,’ Ten Hag said of the Red Devils fans. ‘I don’t know what to say. There are no words.
‘If you have a season like we have had, and they stick with us. In the good times and the bad times, and we have to pay them back. We have the best fans in the world. I mean this.
‘We have to do everything to give the a trophy next week and also, for the future, we have to perform better.’
Rasmus Hojlund scored Manchester United’s second goal at Brighton (Picture: Getty Images)
On finishing eighth, eight points behind Aston Villa in fourth, Ten Hag added: ‘It’s difficult but we’ve talked before over this and it was a very tough season for us.
‘We know it’s not good enough, by far. Simple. There are reasons but, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. It’s United. You have to finish higher and this is not good enough.
‘We know the competition is tough. We have 60 points, two years ago, it was 58 and were sixth and, now, 60 and eighth. But it is not good enough. We’re disappointed.’
The former Ajax boss is thinking positively, though, seeing an extremely difficult FA Cup final against the Premier League champions as a great opportunity.
‘It’s fantastic. A cup final. Such a great event,’ he said. ‘As a kid, you want to take part in this and get a look at it. Everyone is really excited to lift this cup. We still have a good opportunity, going to the final is a huge achievement and, if you’re in a final you want to win. It’s all about trophies and we have an opportunity to lift the cup. It’s all about winning trophies and, as a result of it, we need to be in Europe and it is our last opportunity.’
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