Manchester United’s director of football Jason Wilcox says the club have a ‘clear plan’ for the future and will continue to invest in Ruben Amorim’s squad to become contenders for the Premier League and Champions League again.
Wilcox is pleased with the progress after a difficult start, and insists United have set high standards to ensure they are competing with the best at home and abroad as soon as possible.
‘We have got a clear plan,’ he said. ‘We know what we have got to do, we know the areas of the team that we have got to improve.
‘For us to get in the top four and consistently challenge for Champions League places, win Champions Leagues, win Premier Leagues, we have got to invest in the squad.
‘We have got to buy the right players. The right players who are talented but also who can deal with the pressure, who can take the squad forward. It is not always about just signing elite talent, they have got to have the right character and be somebody who can bring something different to the team.
‘We are really happy with where we are, we know we have got to improve and, you know, the players, they will never be satisfied, Ruben will never be happy, I will never be happy, it is just how we are built. We are always looking to improve.
‘Anybody who works at Manchester United should be thinking the same and they do, with the standards we are driving every day.’
Mbeumo and Cunha, in particular, have led United’s revival after joining from Premier League rivals Brentford and Wolves in the summer. Sesko is settling in after a late start and Lammens has made the No 1 spot his own.
‘The guys have settled in really, really quickly,’ added Wilcox. ‘I think especially when you look at Matheus and Bryan, they have played in the Premier League and they have lived in England, so there is a quicker transition.
‘I think for Benji and Senne have transitioned really well. We are really pleased. They are two young players, two for the future, but they have settled in amazingly well.
‘They are all good guys, even from last summer’s window, they are top professionals, top players and we are really optimistic we are going in the right direction.
‘I’m sure there are going to be bumps in the road, but we have just got to make sure we stay calm irrespective of the noise outside.
‘I see the intensity, I am at training every day, I see the way they train, the way they apply themselves, the way they communicate and get on with each other. Like I say, when you lose football matches you are always going to be a little bit disappointed and especially at this club.
‘The Brentford game stands out as a game when we were extremely disappointed in the way we played, but in all the other games I think we have had moments of really good play and we are seeing progress.
‘We have just got to keep this going now. Not get too carried away when we win and not get too disappointed when we lose. We know we are making progress.
‘When we look at the amount of chances we are creating, we are now just starting to convert but we have got to keep it going. We’ve won three games in a row but we’ve got to make it four.
‘The only way we are going to get this club back to the top is by driving standards. The players and Ruben are certainly doing that on a daily basis.’
