Erik ten Hag is confident that Manchester United will experience growth once both Cristiano Ronaldo and Anthony Martial are able to participate in a more consistent manner.

Martial made the opening kickoff in each of the first team's five preseason friendlies, but he suffered a hamstring injury on July 30 when playing for Atletico Madrid. Since then, he has been sidelined for nine of Manchester United's 13 matches due to three consecutive layoffs.

Due to a personal situation, Ronaldo did not accompany Manchester United on their pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia. Instead, he participated in United's final friendly match against Rayo Vallecano on July 31 and played for 45 minutes.

Martial has only started one game in his career, and he only lasted 29 minutes at Everton before being substituted by Ronaldo, who went on to score the game-winning goal.

United has only scored 13 goals in nine games played in the Premier League, and they needed a goal scored by Scott McTominay in the 93rd minute to defeat Omonia Nicosia in the Europa League at Old Trafford last week. As a result, there are growing concerns about United's capacity to score goals.

United are currently in a respectable fifth place in the league and are just one point away from qualifying for the knockout stage of the Europa League. However, they are seven points behind Tottenham, who they will face on Wednesday night, and they will travel to fourth-place Chelsea on Saturday.

Ten Hag responded, "I think that is a valid question," when asked if United could be in a better position. "I think that is a reasonable question." "There are clearly a lot of challenges, and we had to work with a lot of different guys.

"We were forced to deal with issues on the offensive end right from the beginning: Cristiano Ronaldo was unable to play, and Anthony Martial did not start the game and did not play a full game until this point.

"When it is improved, with two No. 9s present and fit in a solid, combative shape, I have no doubt that the team's results will improve as well.

"I am the type of person who is never happy with what they have. I am glad to be here, but I am not content with where we are right now. At the same time, I am aware that I am eager. My opinion is that good is not good enough, and we need to make improvements.

"I see a lot of ways in which things could be improved, but I also see that we're making progress, which means that if we keep making these kinds of strides, we'll keep becoming better, and that will make me even happier.

Antony wasn't engaged in the first three games, but he has scored three goals in his first four (league) appearances. I believe Rashy scored five goals out of eleven. Martial has scored three goals, and you shouldn't forget about him. Jadon Sancho has scored three goals, while Cristiano Ronaldo has scored two goals.

We have guys who are capable of being productive, and this is not a significant cause for concern at this point.