Erik ten Hag opens up on 'high highs' and 'low lows' at Manchester United - 'Not always sunshine'

Erik ten Hag says management is "not always sunshine" as he reflected to TNT Sports about the "high highs" and "low lows" of Manchester United's recent trajectory.

It's been a challenging few weeks for Ten Hag, who was named Premier League Manager of the Month for November, but who has also seen his side lose half of their last 10 matches across all competitions.

That included a home 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth at the weekend, which saw the club - and the Dutchman - come in from criticism from some quarters.

However, the 53-year old former Ajax boss insists he hasn't been let down by his players - instead that he just needs them to find their top level more regularly, as he readies them to take on Bayern Munich on Tuesday night in the UEFA Champions League, live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

Reflecting on the club's turbulent fortunes to TNT Sports' Jules Breach, Ten Hag said: "We have high highs and low lows, and so we have to get more consistency in our performances, so we have to work very hard for that."

He continued: "I’ve already been a long time manager. It’s not always sunshine. It’s like life. It’s about the final picture.

"I have to bring the belief to my team, and when we have that, we will finish strong and we get will the results we want to achieve."

As well as Ten Hag receiving the manager of the month gong, Harry Maguire was awarded Player of the Month and Alejandro Garnacho Goal of the Month.

Ten Hag said: "It’s a team performance. It tells we are in a good direction. It tells we can play very good football and we connected with the results. For us, the challenge is to get consistent.

"I see the players give everything what they have. They give 100%. Of course, it’s disappointing for all of us that we can’t do it on a consistent basis, but we have to take belief from the fact that we can play really well.

"We have some very high highs. We have to make sure as a team, for every occasion, we are ready to go in and battle and go in and fight and deliver the performance."

United currently sit in sixth place in the Premier League, already 10 points behind leaders Liverpool, who they face on Sunday.

They came into the season looking to defend the League Cup title they lifted last year, but have already been dumped out of that competition, and will be eliminated from the UEFA Champions League unless they beat Bayern Munich at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

Even a victory might not be enough to take the Red Devils through to the knockout stages, as they are reliant on Galatasaray's match against Copenhagen finishing as a draw.

Ten Hag believes injuries have played their part in his side's poor form, but is warning his players they won't be lifting any silverware this season unless they find form soon.

"We have to get back to regular 12, 14 players from a squad who can play," he continued. "It is about also internal competition and we have to find out before we are in March, because at that point, we have to be in a position to win something.

"We can take the belief from last week against Chelsea, but also from other performances, Galatasaray and Everton, where we played at our best. Then we can reach very high levels.

"It’s up to me with my team to get those performances in. If that’s the case, we have a very good to win the game tomorrow.

"Although it’s a very strong opponent, we have the opportunity to win the game. The fans will be behind us, when we energise them, when they see we’re giving everything, when we have a good plan, then everything is possible.

"We want to stay in Europe. We have to win, we know that."

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