Erik ten Hag gave an inspiring speech at the end-of-season awards about his ‘resilient’ team as the 2022/23 campaign reaches its closing stages.
The Dutchman will hope to be celebrating Premier League titles in the future, but it is still early days and we’ve come a long way since losing our first two games of the league season.
In his opening speech at the ceremony, Ten Hag highlighted belief as the key component to building a winning side ahead of this weekend’s FA Cup final against Man City.
We shouldn’t forget that this United side has already shown a winning mentality the season. Maybe not in Europe where we flopped against Sevilla, but in the Carabao Cup when we won our first trophy in six years.
Ten Hag said (via ManUtd.com): “Many things are key, but belief that you [can] win the game is the most important.
“When you show confidence on the pitch and believe in the plan and believe in your colleagues and your team-mates, then you will win.”
He added: “I think we did it [believe] in so many games – but we also dealt with setbacks.
“[This] is a resilient team of character and personality, that are all attributes that you need for a successful season [and] for winning trophies.”
Ten Hag knows he faces a good side on Saturday that could end the season with the treble, something that has only ever been achieved by an English club once before when we reached the promised land in 1999.
The manager warned good will not be good enough as we look to make the next step by winning a cup double, saying: “Good is not good enough, we have to do better.
“We have seen it before the season, after the start of the season, and then where we came from – we are happy, we are [going] in the right direction, but satisfied? No, we are not.”
Ten Hag also spoke about United’s support.
He said: “I noticed when we went on the [preseason] tour in Bangkok, in Melbourne, and everywhere, everyone is supporting you,”
“They are so crazy about Manchester United all over the world.
“The fanbase is huge and that must give you a really strong feeling, and really good feeling, as a player, as a coach, for everyone working for this club.
“So many people supported Manchester United and that gives you a strong feeling, but also you have to take responsibility for that to deliver performances.”
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