Manchester United boss Erik Ten Hag has sent a message to his talismanic striker Cristiano Ronaldo. The Dutchman has revealed that they are not going to play in the same way as they had done in the previous season when Manchester United finished at sixth place in the standings with only 58 points under their tank, which was their worse ever points tally.

Ronaldo had missed the pre-season after citing personal reasons and had not traveled with the team on the tour of Thailand and Australia. The former Ajax manager feels the pre-season was the base and Ronaldo is also not at the top of his fitness.

Ronaldo was named in the starting XI against Brentford FC but he hasn’t started for the team in the rest of the four matches. In fact, there have been a lot of speculations regarding Ronaldo’s future at Old Trafford but finally he is staying at the club.

Erik Ten Hag said, as quoted by The Mirror: “As we said, Ronaldo is here. And, as we all know, he didn’t have a pre-season. You cannot miss pre-season.”

“It’s a base. Especially with the game we play, the way we want to play. We don’t play in the same way we did last year, there is no comparison.”

It is well known that Erik Ten Hag’s style of football requires a lot of pressing and movement with or without the ball.

Commenting on the same, he said, “This demands cooperation and it demands certain positioning in – and out – of possession. The other thing is his fitness.”

“But it’s still early in the season. We have a squad. We have more than 11 players – and that’s what you’re seeing now.”

Manchester United have won three matches on the trot and they will look to continue the good show against table toppers, Arsenal on Sunday.