Erik ten Hag has admitted that Manchester United are highly unlikely to win the Premier League title this season, but is hopeful that the Red Devils can challenge for the top-flight crown in 2023-24.
After replacing Ole Gunner Solskjaer in the Old Trafford hotseat last summer, the Dutchman endured a rocky start to life in the dugout, losing his first two Premier League games against Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford, including an embarrassing 4-0 defeat to the latter.
However, a swift transformation has since taken place under the tutelage of Ten Hag, who guided Man United to their first trophy in six years with success in the EFL Cup final last month.
The Red Devils are also still competing in both the FA Cup and Europa League, although they currently sit third in the Premier League table and 16 points behind leaders Arsenal.
Ten Hag has acknowledged that United have made progress in his first season at the club and believes that they have already shown signs that they can compete at the top end of the table next season.
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Asked how far away the Red Devils are from challenging for the Premier League title when attending a press conference ahead of Thursday's Europa League second-leg tie at Real Betis, Ten Hag said: "I think we have made good progress, but we have to acknowledge there is still a gap.
"I couldn't expect that we close that gap that quickly. What we want is we want to win every game, no matter which opponent. I think in all of the games you have seen till now, I think that was our approach. We tried to win every game.
"Also we have beaten all the top teams so we are capable to do it. So now we have to make the next step to do that more dominant, more consistent. So we have some steps to take. But we know, there is time, we can do it."
Man United won a total of 13 Premier League title under legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson, but they last had their hands on the trophy back in the 2012-13 campaign and have since seen their bitter rivals Manchester City win the title on five occasions.
Ten Hag believes that winning the Premier League title is as difficult as ever considering the strength of opposition, adding: "You see the competition and I also heard comments from other players and other managers that the Premier League was never as difficult as now, there are so many competitors.
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"It is not a two-horse race. It's five, six, seven-horse races so you have to be very good if you want to win that league. But we are aiming for that. What we want, so do six, seven more clubs.
"They will invest and they will spend big money, and they have great managers, so they have great players. So it's a lot about details in the end, you can win it.
"But as I said, we have beaten all the teams in the Premier League so we are capable to do it but we are aware of it at the club and also in the team. We are aware of it, we have some steps to go."
Man United are on course to improve on last season's sixth-placed finish in the top flight, although pipping Man City to second place seems a tall order as they have slipped nine points behind the Citizens after dropping five points in their last two league games.
In the meantime, the Red Devils will hope to get the job done in their Europa League last-16 tie with Real Betis on Thursday, with Ten Hag's men boasting a 4-1 lead from the first leg, before welcoming Fulham to Old Trafford for an FA Cup quarter-final clash on Sunday.
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