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Manchester United midfielder Christian Eriksen has attributed the club’s struggles this season to the challenges of adapting to a new style of play — a view that was also shared by his teammate Rasmus Hojlund.
United have endured a wretched campaign, most of which has been spent in the bottom half of the table.
Currently, the Red Devils find themselves in 13th place with just 38 points and only seven matches remaining in the season. United have suffered 13 defeats and managed to score just 37 goals so far. Only Everton, West Ham, Ipswich Town, Leicester City, and Southampton have found the back of the net fewer times.
The Europa League stands as United’s sole remaining opportunity to secure silverware this season—and with it, a potential route back into the Champions League.
Eriksen and Hojlund spoke candidly about the team’s struggles during an interview with Sky Sports. Eriksen highlighted the transition from Erik ten Hag’s football philosophy to Ruben Amorim’s tactical approach as a major factor behind United’s difficulties this season.
Eriksen said, “There’s been a lot of talk in this season, but at the same time, we’re at United, so you know there’s going to be a lot of focus on the club and on the players and everything. There have been lots of ups and downs and a few more downs than what we wanted. But we’re still in the Europa League, and then at the same time we will continue pushing in the league until the end.”
“When I arrived with Ten Hag, obviously it was a bit of a different playing style, a bit of a different philosophy of playing. Now, it’s a bit of a different system and you have to adapt to that. Often, when you’re in a season, it’s tougher to turn things around because everyone is already in the rhythm of the manager before, but I think you’re seeing a progression.”
“People are getting more used to the system, the positions they are playing in. It’s more about getting that proper transformation in a good way.”
Hojlund added, “I think if you ask the manager, he wants it to be done by tomorrow. But it’s the same for us as well. We want to do it as best as possible and we want to change it as fast as possible. There’s no recipe to these sort of things. It comes with time.”
The forward told Sky Sports about his goalscoring troubles, “I want to score 100 goals tomorrow if I can, but it’s about progression and keep focusing about what you can do, and how you can get to that level. That’s what we’re trying to do every day, being interested about learning new things, wanting to become better.”
“I think we’re trying to build an environment now where we can grow and where we can develop ourselves. I think it’s a very young group as well. There’s a lot of young people and young players coming through now, which is sort of we’re helping each other. The competition getting sharper, and it helps each other to make us better.”
“Obviously, it’s important to have players like Christian and a little bit older players who can get through with that experience that they have.”
On Hojlund, Eriksen explained that the 22-year-old is unfortunate that he’s under intense pressure courtesy of being at United but he must learn to deal with it.
Eriksen continued, “I’m sure Rasmus has found his way in some way, and, like he said, you always have to learn and develop. But I think, especially here with all the focus from the outside, the spotlight is on you. In a bad time at the club, then obviously it’s going to be a lot harder mentally.”
“It’s very hard for a lot of the young guys where it’s the first time going through this kind of pressure. But I can only imagine, if you go through it, how happy and how easy you will feel afterwards. It’s just about really pushing through and finding your way.”
Hojlund insisted that his Danish counterpart has been a great help to him since he arrived at Old Trafford from Atalanta in 2023.
The forward noted how easy it is to “get into a hole emotionally” but he knew that public criticism was part of the package when he signed for United.
Asked what is the most important piece of advice Eriksen would give his younger self or a player like Hojlund right now, the veteran midfielder answered, “I think in general, not just for Rasmus, but for everyone, it’s finding your own way, because every club is different, any manager, whoever comes through, it’s going to be a different perspective, a different view from the outside, from the inside.”
“So it’s really about finding your own way as a player, finding out why you perform, why you don’t perform, and then from there, just trying to build on it. That was my aim from early on, and that would probably be my advice looking back.”
United are back in action on Sunday when they go away to St James’ Park to face Newcastle. Kick-off is at 16:30 BST.
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