As Manchester United (Manchester, England) suffers its worst season in the English Premier League (EPL), manager Eric ten Haag defended the team's poor form by saying, "We have a lot of injuries."
Following United's 0-1 home loss to Arsenal in the 37th round of the 2023-2024 EPL at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, on Wednesday (Jan. 13), Van Gaal said after the game that "(managing United at the moment) is like swimming with your hands tied behind your back."
"Injuries to our defenders have forced us to play Casemiro at center back," he said, adding, "We have lost many key players to injury, including Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford, Harry Maguire and Mason Mount."
"I'm only in my second year as United manager and so far we've only played one game with a full strength squad," he said, adding that "no manager can develop a team with this many injuries."
"If you analyze the game itself, you have to know that we played a very competitive game," he concluded.
The Red Devils have lost two consecutive home games, including a 0-4 defeat to Crystal Palace in the 36th round of the EPL on Sept. 7, before losing to Arsenal on Sunday. 바카라사이트 It was the ninth time the Red Devils have lost at home this season.
Of their last nine games, United have only won one, against Sheffield United, who were confirmed to be relegated to the second tier.
United's 14 losses this season (W16 D6 L54) are also the most since the inception of the EPL.
Currently in eighth place in the league, the club is also in doubt of qualifying for next season's UEFA Europa Conference League (UECL), which is awarded to the top six teams.
The club has also canceled its own annual awards ceremony, which was scheduled to take place on Tuesday.
Traditionally, the club has held an end-of-season awards ceremony and dinner to honor players of the season, but "this year's event was canceled after consultation with the club and the manager to ensure that the players do not lose focus ahead of the FA Cup final against Manchester City," the club said.
