Erik ten Hag says everyone is on same page over Man Utd ‘long-term project’

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag insisted everyone at the club was “on the same page” after his side battled to a 0-0 draw with Aston Villa.

Ten Hag’s position is under renewed scrutiny following the humbling home defeat to Tottenham and Thursday’s Europa League draw in Porto.

Co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe sidestepped a question about Ten Hag’s position ahead of the trip to Villa Park, where he watched on as the visitors earned a point in a low-quality contest.

Asked if he will speak to members of the club’s hierarchy while at Villa Park, Ten Hag told Sky Sports: “We always speak, we speak every week.

“We are all onboard together, on one page. We know where we are working to, it’s a long-term project and we have to keep improving the process.

“We have proved in two very tough away games this is a team and you show the togetherness and the spirit, but also the belief and the faith they have.”

Veteran defender Jonny Evans turned in a man-of-the-match performance and was pleased to help secure a result for his under-fire manager.

“It was great for him to see that, you could see that everyone was running themselves into the ground and I’m pleased for him he got a half-decent result today,” Evans told Sky Sports.

Former Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov believes Ten Hag will continue to face criticism until results improve.

“I think the criticism will continue to grow because United need to win to get the points,” Berbatov told Sky Sports.

“They are 14th in the table, which is unbelievable. The only thing to correct is getting the points but with the way they are playing at the moment that will be hard.”

Villa boss Unai Emery was satisfied with a point but admitted his side lacked “energy” following their Champions League heroics against Bayern Munich.

“It’s not the best result, playing at home here, but it’s not the worst. I think the draw could be fair for both teams,” Emery told Sky Sports.

“Maybe second half we were controlling better than the first half but they had very good chances and at the end we had two good chances to score. But over 90 minutes we missed some energy.”