Christian Eriksen warns rivals Man Utd are rising again under Erik ten Hag

Christian Eriksen has warned Manchester United’s rivals that the club is ‘rising’ again under Erik ten Hag.

Eriksen was one of six new signings made by Ten Hag after the Dutchman took over at Old Trafford in the summer, and United have shown significant signs of improvement after a difficult start.

Ten Hag’s side lie sixth in the Premier League table having beaten Liverpool and Arsenal before drawing at Chelsea last weekend, and will qualify for the knockout stage of the Europa League if they avoid defeat against Sheriff Tiraspol at Old Trafford on Thursday night.

Christian Eriksen has warned Manchester United’s main rivals that the club is ‘rising’ again

United have beaten Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham while also drawing against Chelsea

Eriksen senses a growing feeling that United are becoming a force to be reckoned with under Ten Hag as the manager continues to mould a new team.

Asked if he thinks there is more to come, Eriksen said: ‘I do. I have the feeling, the players feel it and the fans do, I even think you guys believe it a bit.

‘I think you can see the development in the games of how we play, there’s a bit of a rising. I think we’re starting to believe it.

Eriksen senses that United are becoming a force to be reckoned with under boss Erik Ten Hag

‘Obviously there’s a lot of things that we need to do better, things we can change but I think overall we’re on the right path.

‘I do think there’s a bit of belief. I think we started believing what we are doing on the pitch and a lot of the 1-0 wins gave us confidence that we could do well and get momentum.

‘He (Ten Hag) wants us to do stuff and we try to do what he wants, but on the pitch we have to make our own decisions. I think the qualities we have, when finally we get to know the base, will be even better.’

However, Eriksen still accepts that United are some way short of Manchester City after suffering a 6-3 defeat in the Manchester derby at the Etihad earlier this month.

‘I think they’ve played together for many years and had the consistency for many years,’ he added.

‘Like I said, a lot of new guys have come in. It’s up to us to show that consistency to be out there, stay out there and not get many downs. We need to show our consistency before we can compare.’

The former Inter Milan and Tottenham playmaker has been a key figure for ten Hag this season

Some questioned whether Eriksen would be a regular starter at United when he signed as a free agent in the summer after relaunching his career at Brentford following a cardiac arrest at Euro 2020.

But the former Inter Milan and Tottenham playmaker has been a key figure for Ten Hag following United’s failure to sign Frenkie De Jong from Barcelona.

‘I didn’t want to come here to sit on the bench, that was never my aim,’ he said. ‘I’ve never been like that as a footballer, to go somewhere and relax on the bench, so I did see my quality as a player, yes.

‘I think I’ve always played in a bit of a different position. I’ve always started in one and moved around in the game. It’s been like that at every club.

‘My thing is that I like to be wherever the ball is and, for me, it doesn’t matter if I start as a No.6, No.8 or No.10. It’s more how the game is going, how I can be involved. I don’t really have any preference.’