Erik ten Hag acknowledges that Mason Mount, who joined Manchester United for £60 million from Chelsea, requires some time to get used to playing in a deeper midfield position.

Some people were surprised by United’s acquisition of Mount given that Ten Hag was looking for a defensive midfielder this summer.

As United struggled to a 1-0 victory over Wolves at Old Trafford on Monday night, Mount’s Premier League debut didn’t go as planned, and his midfield partner Casemiro was repeatedly left exposed. United didn’t start to look more organized until Christian Eriksen came on in place of the England player in the 68th minute.

Ten Hag acknowledges that there is still work to be done, but he believes Mount will develop into a better defensive player, much like Eriksen did after joining the team last summer.The United manager claimed that when Christian Eriksen joined last season, it was the first time in his life that he played a deeper role. “That was Christian’s goal, and Mason shares Christian’s goal. That is how I view football, therefore he wants to be more versatile. He is capable. In the preseason, we have already witnessed it. Undoubtedly, there are many aspects of our game that need improvement. But there’s also the issue of how to establish midfield cooperation. We will definitely obtain it, but it won’t happen right away.There is a procedure we must follow, but I’m confident he possesses the game intelligence, technical know-how, and good ball vision. He is adept at handling the ball. Don’t forget that he has the dynamics and the mentality. Everything is in place to make it happen. Ten Hag thinks that Casemiro’s seclusion versus Wolves and United’s subpar performance were the result of additional reasons. He continued, ‘I believed Luke Shaw and, on occasion, (Lisandro) Martinez and Mason Mount were all around him (Casemiro).It is unquestionably a new midfield, though. We are able to and must move up there. We need to get better. We were utterly useless when in possession, and it had to do with following regulations and morals. In our possession game, we didn’t adhere to those norms and principles.‘Players made a lot of careless mistakes, too. It was well below what we expect from our players and what I know they are capable of.”It could happen, but I’ve already seen in preseason that we can do much better, and I’ve seen last season that we did much better, so I’m sure they will improve quickly,” the speaker said. Ten Hag expressed concern about his players’ continued demanding schedules with their clubs and nations, as well as the extra issue of more stoppage time being imposed by officials, and thought that exhaustion was a problem.Absolutely, he responded. It is accumulating, not just pre-season. Once more, FIFA and UEFA, we need to look at the timetable. Even though more time needs to be added, it won’t help. “It is wrong that we keep adding to the players’ workload.”Although the Cameroonian was fortunate not to give up a late penalty when he rushed out of his goal and collided with Sasa Kalajdzic, Andre Onana, United’s new goalkeeper, was the team’s finest player against Wolves, which says a lot about the whole performance.In his previous Old Trafford match against Lens, Onana was lobbed from 40 yards, but Ten Hag downplayed worries that his former Ajax goalie could occasionally be too daring.The Dutchman responded, “No, I think he is really proactive and that is what we want. “We want players who take initiative, and he must manage himself to know when to take the initiative and when to be more passive,” the coach said.