United remain in sixth spot, one point ahead of Newcastle, in the battle for a place in next season’s Europa League.
Ten Hag defended his decision to take off Rasmus Hojlund and Kobbie Mainoo after 65 minutes, which sparked boos from home supporters, and warned fans need to show patience after the Red Devils targeted younger players last summer.
“It was a high intensity game, our third in quick succession, and Burnley had days off, so it was totally logical to bring players off who are very young and in their first years of the Premier League – and I don’t even talk about the injury risk,” he said.
“Rasmus Hojlund had injuries and Kobbie Mainoo had bad injuries, so I protected them. I understand fans want to see the skills those players bring but I have to do my job. It was the right decision.”
Ten Hag suggested an inexperienced squad can lead to inconsistent performances – comparing his team to 2004-05 when a United side in transition, with young players including Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo starting to come to the fore, finished third in the league, were FA Cup runners-up and League Cup semi-finalists.
“They forget, 2004-05, they also didn’t play that great football,” he said. “They are building and it takes time but everyone forgets, even the players who were in the team, they forget they were struggling. You need time to progress.”
