Erik ten Hag insists Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho prove how Man Utd have consistent playing philosophy

The Red Devils have often been criticised this campaign not only for their under-whelming performances but also for the lack of a playing style under Ten Hag. While the elite Premier League teams, like Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool, boast of having a distinct philosophy while going about business, it is widely believed that the Dutch manager has failed to lend United a unique identity even after staying at the helm for almost two campaigns.

However, Ten Hag refuses to agree to the aforementioned sentiment. Instead, he has argued that the revelation of academy players like Mainoo and Garnacho at the highest level is an indication of a well-drilled structure already prevalent at the club, where the academies closely follow the footprints of the senior team while adopting a style of play.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Ten Hag said: "There is a game model here. How do you think [Alejandro] Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo are able to come up? That's because it was one of my objectives from the previous leadership team to bring that in.

"It was already going, they were already improving the academy. You can see they won the FA Youth Cup, the academy teams are becoming champions and that is the structure that was laid out a couple of years ago. Now you see some revenues from it, and the best is by bringing players [into] the first team like Kobbie and Garnacho."

United have poached Jason Wilcox from Southampton to appoint him as the club's new technical director. Ten Hag believes that it is a step in the right direction and said: "Developments are going very quickly so you can't stand still, you have to make new improvements all the time so the function of a technical director, working on a game model, is the right choice. There is a base here and the proof is there as well.

"Initial meetings are good… now we have to take things quickly because the summer is coming. It's a very important period where you come into a window. We want to make the next step into our squad and make plans to create an environment that avoids this year's problems in injuries."

Ten Hag faces a litmus test in May as Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Co might wield the axe if he fails to guide United to a European spot. He has five games, including an FA Cup final against eternal rivals Manchester City, to secure his future - starting with a league fixture against Crystal Palace on Monday evening at Selhurst Park.