Following Manchester United’s eighth loss of the season in the Premier League against West Ham on Saturday, Erik ten Hag candidly acknowledged the team’s underperformance this season.

After a goalless draw at Anfield the previous match, United came to the London Stadium full of confidence and controlled the first half against the Hammers.

As the home team faltered to begin the match in front of their enthusiastic fan base, Alejandro Garnacho missed two golden opportunities to put the visitors ahead.

Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus scored within six minutes of each other to turn the game and give manager David Moyes a vital victory in the second half.

As the Red Devils enter Christmas Day in seventh place in the Premier League standings, more than ten points behind league leaders Arsenal, the pressure is once again on Ten Hag.

Even though the Dutchman had a fantastic debut season as United manager, leading the team to a Champions League and Carabao Cup, the English giants have appeared bewildered thus far this season.

United are not performing up to expectations, according to Ten Hag, who blamed long-term injuries to important players for many of his team’s problems.

We played a respectable 72 minutes without taking any unnecessary risks, in my opinion. Ten Hag spoke to the BBC on how the team should have taken the lead and how they then seemed to lose focus for a time.

According to Ten Hag, “we were head-to-head last week against the top of this league,” even if they aren’t currently at the top. Even though we had the game’s best chances, we were unable to convert them.

It had to be like that all the time; we defended admirably for 90 minutes. Right now, our performance is lacking. Several factors contribute to that.

We need to be composed, remain united, and adhere to the strategy because our team will be better off if the injuries come back. Together, we must accomplish this, he emphasized.

United have been plagued by injuries all season long. Long-term absentees Mason Mount, Lisandro Martinez, Harry Maguire, Casemiro, and Victor Lindelof are among them. Raphael Varane was unable to participate in Saturday’s squad because of illness.

It was anticipated that Mount, Maguire, and Martinez would return to the club in January, but other injured first-teamers are further along in their recoveries.

On the other hand, United’s goal-scoring wоes have persisted throughout the season, and their most recent loss in the capital city extended their goal-scoring drought to three decades.