Erik ten Hag slammed the depth in his Manchester United squad as he laid out his case for summer additions if he remains in charge at Old Trafford.
The Dutchman fielded three of his four most expensive signings on the bench against Manchester City at Wembley, with the final member of that quartet also initially among the replacements before withdrawing as a result of injury.
That might have been Casemiro’s final act as a United player but Ten Hag will need to get more from Mason Mount, Antony and Rasmus Hojlund if he avoids the sack this summer. His future remains uncertain despite making it two trophies in two seasons with the FA Cup triumph.
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Teenagers Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo scored the goals that secured a shock win for United and Ten Hag said he had planned from day one of pre-season for both to play a prominent role this season, before then saying the depth in his squad was “by far not good enough”.
“Sometimes it comes by luck that you develop a young player but it was a plan. We planned last summer to bring in Garnacho in the team and also Kobbie Mainoo,” he said.
“He [Mainoo] took a very bad injury in the second game of pre-season against Real Madrid after one minute. That was the first setback and a huge setback for him and the team but in the end we are so happy that we have seen this well, me as a manager with my coaching staff.
“I am very happy because they have potential to meet the standards you need for absolutely top football and we need more from such players because the depth in the squad is by far not good enough.”
Ten Hag also pointed to the injury crisis as a reason for strengthening his squad in the summer transfer window, hinting that he needed players who are more “robust” than some of those who have struggled to stay fit this season.
“We strengthen the squad by our coaching and training but also still we need transfer windows to bring better players in and also players who are always available or often valuable because when the players are not robust enough, you cannot win trophies,” he said.
Ten Hag praised the quality of the performance from his side in beating Manchester City on what was United’s finest day of the campaign, with victory also bagging a Europa League spot for next season.
“I really enjoyed this final, first place lifting the trophy but especially the way we played and then you see all the work we put in together, staff, players, togetherness to develop and progress this team and if you then play in this level against the best team in the world I am very pleased,” he said.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
