‘Good’ first season at Manchester United not enough for Ten Hag

Erik ten Hag said Manchester United must strive for more even though his team look set to clinch a place in next season’s Champions League.

United need just one point from their final two Premier League games against Chelsea and Fulham to secure a top-four finish after a season out of Europe’s elite club competition.

Ten Hag also ended the club’s six-year wait for a trophy in his first season in charge by lifting the League Cup in February.

The Dutchman could even end his debut campaign in England with two trophies as United face local rivals Manchester City in the FA Cup final.

But Ten Hag insisted the Red Devils’ targets must be even higher next season as they seek to rekindle former glories.

“We are in a project, we want to go back and win trophies,” Ten Hag said at his pre-match press conference ahead of Chelsea’s visit to Old Trafford on Thursday.

“We win one trophy but we want more trophies, (to) compete with the best. We are still in a journey, we think we are in the right direction but it can always be better because good is not good enough.”

United’s goal-shy attack has missed the firepower of Marcus Rashford for the past two games, but the England international is likely to return against Chelsea.

The team have been over-reliant on Rashford this season — he has scored 29 goals in all competitions, with Bruno Fernandes (11) the only other United player to reach double figures.

“Yesterday, he returned to training,” said Ten Hag, referring to Rashford’s fitness after he missed Saturday’s 1-0 win at Bournemouth due to illness.

“He looks quite fit but we have to see today what is the outcome of the training, how did he recover and then we will make our choices.”