Erik ten Hag said critics should just him at the end of the season after seeing his Manchester United side squander a two-goal lead and need an injury-time Harry Maguire goal to rescue a point against Porto on Thursday.
The Dutchman was already under huge pressure going into the Europa League match in Portugal after just two wins from United's first six Premier League fixtures of the season left them languishing in 13th place in the table.
The Red Devils have also drawn their opening two Europa League games to sit 21st in the 36-team table.
"We will get there, don't judge us in this moment," said Ten Hag. "Judge us in the end of the season. We will improve, we have two seasons where we achieved finals. Just wait, we will develop and progress this team."
Ten Hag can indeed point to two trophies in his two seasons at Old Trafford, winning the League Cup in 2023 to end a six-year trophy drought and adding the FA Cup last term.
A shock victory over Manchester City in last season's FA Cup final was widely credited with saving his job despite finishing eighth in the Premier League.
He was rewarded with a contract extension in July, with United's new minority owner Jim Ratcliffe convinced that the former Ajax manager was the right man to restore the club to former glories.
But the United hierarchy could be forced to act in the upcoming international break after they travel to face Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday.
Ten Hag could not have asked for a better start in Porto as goals from Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund put United 2-0 up inside 20 minutes
However, the English giants have failed to win any of their last four away European games despite scoring three times in each of them.
Last season they crashed out of the Champions League at the group stages after losing 4-3 at Bayern Munich and Copenhagen plus a 3-3 draw at Galatasaray.
Another six-goal thriller took place at the Estadio do Dragao as Pepe and Samu Omorodion brought Porto level before half time.
Omorodion smashed the home side in front early in the second half before United captain Bruno Fernandes was sent off for the second consecutive game.
But Maguire's header from a corner at least salvaged a point for Ten Hag.
“I think it’s mixed feelings,” said the United boss. “When you are winning a game … we all know this is a very tough place to go and then you start so well, the players executed the plan, I would say, brilliantly.
“We scored two great goals and then we switch it off and we don’t keep so much possession as before. Defending we’re switching off.
“We concede the first goal totally unnecessarily and then you know when you light up the fire in this stadium, in this ambience, then it’s becomes really tough.
“We addressed it in a half time and then you concede the third one, so unnecessary. It’s not good defending again. It’s also to do with some willingness in such moments.
“But then I have to praise the guys for how they return in the game, how they fight, how we find a way to get the equaliser.
“It’s not only about in stopping time with a set play, but we also had beforehand some good chances.”
'Ange's Angels' shine for Tottenham
Ange Postecoglou saluted his four teenage starters after they helped Tottenham Hotspur to a hard-fought 2-1 victory at Ferencvaros.
Four players aged 19 or under were named in the Spurs line-up in Budapest with full debuts handed to academy graduates Mikey Moore and Will Lankshear, but the duo brushed off their inexperience to combine to set up Pape Sarr’s 23rd-minute opener.
Sarr scored amid a ferocious white-hot atmosphere at Groupama Arena and while Ferencvaros pushed the visitors, Tottenham substitute Brennan Johnson wrapped up the points with a smart finish in the 86th-minute to score for a fifth consecutive game.
Barnabas Varga reduced the deficit at the start of stoppage-time, but Postecoglou’s side, which had an average age of 23 after teenage pair Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall also started, held on.
Asked if his youngsters could be called Ange’s Angels in reference to the Busby Babes and Fergie’s Fledglings, Postecoglou laughed: “Nah, nah, nah, nah, you’ve got to do better than that. No, no chance.
“The first thing is that they’re part of our first-team squad, not because I want some young players, it’s because they’ve earned that spot.
“Then it’s about how to help them develop and the moments we need to put them in there, the moments we need to hold off. And we can’t discount the fact that Archie is 18, Lucas is 18.
“I thought Archie was brilliant. We asked him to play in two different positions and it’s incredible how he just adjusts and he’s able to bring his game to wherever he put him.
“Lucas worked hard and Will was unlucky with a couple of moments when we could have got a goal.
“These guys are there because they’ve earnedtheir spot but they’re an important part of our development.
“Whilst we want to be a team that has an impact this year, it’s like I said before, it’s important we’re developing players along the way so that whatever sort of period of potential for success or opportunity for success exists, it’s elongated because of the young players you got through.”
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
MATCH INFO
Sheffield United 3
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Manchester United 3
Williams 72, Greenwood 77, Rashford 79
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heading
Iran has sent five planeloads of food to Qatar, which is suffering shortages amid a regional blockade.
A number of nations, including Iran's major rival Saudi Arabia, last week cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of funding terrorism, charges it denies.
The land border with Saudi Arabia, through which 40% of Qatar's food comes, has been closed.
Meanwhile, mediators Kuwait said that Qatar was ready to listen to the "qualms" of its neighbours.
The low down
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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