Erik ten Hag must aspire to more than just winning domestic cups after being given a leap of faith by the club's owners, argues to Mikael Silvestre.
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United must challenge for title under Ten HagSilvestre believes club right to keep manager'Room for improvement', says ex-starWHAT HAPPENED?
Ten Hag has been given another chance to succeed at United by the club's minority owners INEOS, with his side's FA Cup final win over Manchester City seemingly making up for presiding over the Red Devils' worst ever finish in the Premier League. It was his second trophy win with United after lifting the Carabao Cup in his first campaign, although much more is expected of him next season.
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"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 . "There is still a lot of room for improvement and hopefully he can get some more signings to improve the squad."
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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."
DID YOU KNOW?
Ten Hag has made two signings this summer, with United splashing £52 million ($66m) to get Leny Yoro from Lille and buying Netherlands striker Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna for £37m ($43m). The club are also interested in signing Noussair Mazraoui from Bayern Munich. The Morocco right-back is the latest of many players Ten Hag has either signed or tried to sign after previously working with them at Ajax, which has attracted a fair bit of criticism. Silvestre does not see a problem with this, however.
