'Not ready' - Erik ten Hag makes worrying admission ahead of Man Utd's Premier League opener

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has confessed his side are simply "not ready" for Friday's Premier League opener against Fulham on Friday.

Following the conclusion of Euro 2024 and Copa America, United were among a number of sides who lost key stars to extended breaks while they began their pre-season campaign.

New signings Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui and Joshua Zirkzee have had limited opportunities to train with their teammates, while fellow new face Leny Yoro has already been sidelined by injury, leaving Ten Hag forced to admit that his vision for the team this season is nowhere near ready to be realised.

"We have not had the kind of ­pre-season where you can work on the team for five or six weeks - it's very complicated," Ten Hag told the press.

"We had the USA tour squad, and then we added the players at the Euros and Copa America, and now the new signings. Now we have to make a team from it. That team is not ready, but the league starts and there are more ­managers that have this problem.

"We have some rules and principles [they must learn] and we have to make a start [on that]. At the start of the season, don't drop points, work hard, make sure you are organised.

"We are not [at] 100% form, but we have to go from game to game to improve and to get higher performance levels in the team and in individual players. We will see how quick we can go with this process."

Despite the unfinished preparations for the season, Ten Hag set his ambitions high as he challenged United to compete for as much silverware as possible.

"My expectations are very high," the boss confessed. "We won two trophies - more than any [Premier League] club except City, so that gives us confidence. We have to be more consistent, but we want to win in every competition."

READ THE LATEST MAN UTD NEWS, TRANSFER RUMOURS & GOSSIP