Mikael Silvestre has asserted that Erik ten Hag needs to aim for more than just domestic cup victories after receiving a vote of confidence from the club’s owners.
Despite leading Manchester United to an FA Cup win over Manchester City and achieving his second trophy with the club, having previously won the Carabao Cup, Ten Hag faces the challenge of overcoming United’s worst-ever Premier League finish.
With INEOS, the club’s minority owners, showing continued support, expectations for the upcoming season are significantly higher.
“The cup is not the club’s main objective, they have got to be challenging for the title like Man City and Arsenal have been doing over the last two seasons,” Silvestre said to TG Casino. “There is still a lot of room for improvement and hopefully he can get some more signings to improve the squad.”
United considered a number of candidates to succeed Ten Hag and held discussions with Thomas Tuchel before eventually deciding to stick with the Dutchman, triggering the one-year extension in his contract.
Silvestre believes that was the right decision, as he added: “I couldn’t identify another candidate for the job. I think Erik was given a tough task and he started brilliantly but last season was a disappointment.
There were question marks on the team’s progress and performances. Certain players didn’t progress and there were big doubts about his future. Now it’s been confirmed and he’s going to have resources.”
This summer, Erik ten Hag has secured two new additions for Manchester United: Leny Yoro from Lille for £52 million ($66 million) and Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna for £37 million ($43 million).
The club is also eyeing Noussair Mazraoui from Bayern Munich.
Mazraoui, a right-back from Morocco, is one of several players Ten Hag has pursued or signed due to their past connections at Ajax, a move that has faced some criticism.
However, Silvestre believes this approach is not an issue.
“It depends, it’s case-by-case and you can’t make it as a general view,” added the Frenchman. “There were some good ones and some that didn’t work out so far, like Antony. Lisandro Martinez on the other side is the one that when he doesn’t play, you feel it.
Whether you are a manager or you are a sporting director, you tend to have a certain network and that’s just how it goes, but after it’s a matter of whether or not the player will perform for United.
So I think now we have the new staff around the manager at the recruitment level and technical decision makers that should help the manager to make the right call.”
Manchester United’s pre-season has been challenging, with three defeats in five friendlies and injuries to Leny Yoro and Rasmus Højlund.
Despite these setbacks, they will welcome back their full squad for the Community Shield clash against Manchester City on Saturday. The team will then kick off their Premier League season with a home match against Fulham on August 16.