Erik ten Hag has demanded greater discipline from Manchester United as the club’s defensive issues continue.
Manchester United have conceded 17 goals in their last seven fixtures across all competitions and were twice forced to come from behind to beat Sheffield United in midweek.
The Red Devils have not recorded a clean sheet since March 9 and have just two from 13 Premier League games since the turn of the new year.
Only Sheffield United (17.9) have conceded more shots per game on average than United (17.7) and Ten Hag has demanded his team show better organisation across the Premier League run-in.
“Out of possession, we have to be better organised, better disciplined and we have to play with a high intensity,” he said at a press conference ahead of facing Burnley.
“And we have to keep doing the stuff in possession, because I think we make huge progress in this season in attacking transitions – we have scored so many goals. If you see the difference between first season and second season now, it’s immense, so we develop our attacking style of playing.”
On why he believes his team have struggled defensively this season, Ten Hag added: “Most important this season is the back four. We didn’t have a sustainable back four.
“There have been so many different partnerships, swapping the full-backs. It’s also that our attacking players have to contribute more; [be] more disciplined, more pressure on the ball and matching better the runs.”
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