Erik ten Hag’s first challenge at Man Utd highlighted amid transfer spree suggestions

Liverpool v Man Utd: Pictures

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Erik ten Hag is expected to conduct a mass reshuffle at Manchester United over the season in his bid to help the club regain its status as title contenders. However, before he can even begin considering transfers, he must overcome and improve the mentality of his squad.

United’s 4-0 loss to Liverpool on Tuesday night only highlighted how far the club has fallen since Sir Alex Ferguson retired. The result means that the Red Devils remained in sixth place in the Premier League and are three points behind North London outfits Arsenal and Tottenham, who are equally battling it out for that coveted fourth place.

With five games left of the season, there is still a lot to play for and a Champions League finish will certainly enable Ten Hag to attract top talent to Old Trafford over the summer. However, the current squad don’t share that view, which highlights the internal issue in the dressing room.

Speaking after the defeat on Tuesday, Fernandes came out and told Sky Sports: “Liverpool is fighting for the title, that is the difference. We are not fighting for nothing. We have to look at ourselves, from top to bottom and understand what is going wrong.” The Portugal international then contradicted himself with claims the team would fight until the end, but the damage was already done by that point.

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But he is not the only dispirited member of the team to come out and make an eyebrow-raising statement. Speaking ahead of the match against Arsenal this weekend, Jesse Lingard told MUTV: “We’ve got a big game coming up. We’ve got to regroup fast this week, it’s a big three points on Saturday. It’s another free hit and we’ll go there with the mindset of winning, staying on the front foot, being intense, doing the basics and having that energy to go and win the game.”

Labelling the match a ‘free hit’ certainly speaks volumes about the ambition of the players, especially considering a win over the Gunners would mean that the clubs are level on points. Although it is unlikely that the Red Devils will secure Champions League football for next season, there is still a slim chance that warrants more than a half-hearted attitude.

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Interim boss Ralf Rangnick was not able to sign any players in the January transfer windows as the higher powers at the club were keen to keep their budget for the summer for the new boss to spend. However, even mass investment will not be able to change the mentality of this crop of players.

Ten Hag will be banking on a change in vision, tactics and the chance to win silverware to reinspire the team. They are also expected to sign a striker, central midfielder and right-back before the start of next season which should spark an improvement on the pitch.

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