Manchester United expressing their commitment to Erik ten Hag can only build togetherness, so says Wes Brown, who urged the Red Devils to improve next campaign.

Ten Hag was reportedly nearing the exit door at Old Trafford after guiding United to eighth in the top flight last season, their lowest finish in the Premier League era.

Yet the Dutchman saved his job with the FA Cup final victory over fierce rivals Manchester City, securing his second trophy in as many seasons and sneaking into the Europa League in the process.

Former United defender Brown believes the club's backing of the manager can only improve the mood in the squad, who must perform better for Ten Hag when the 2024-25 campaign begins.

"He's done well, we obviously won the cup last season against Man City," said Brown, speaking to Stats Perform at the Home of Adidas football in Berlin. 

"I think expectations are always going to be high for any manager at Manchester United. But since we were let down a little bit in the league last year, we want to be in the Champions League, we want to finish as high as we can.

"I think that is a priority. No one knows [the new] signings yet, that normally happens after a major tournament, so we're not sure what's going to happen there yet.

"But I really like the manager and at times the players have let themselves down. But you can see there's a togetherness coming together and he just has to keep that going now.

"He knows where he's going to be now for the next few years. With that all sorted out, he can now move on and do the job to the best of his ability."

Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino and Thomas Frank were all linked to the United job as speculation loomed over Ten Hag's future.

Brown, who played 232 times for United after coming through their academy, says ending those rumours should positively impact Ten Hag's players.

Asked if uncertainty around Ten Hag's future would impact the squad, Brown responded: "I think it does. I've probably been in the same situation at other clubs.

"It definitely helps going forward, if anything you don't think about it, it's all done now.

"It definitely helps in the sense of coming together as a team and we're all in it together, and we can now move forward for the next few years and make the club better again."

Ten Hag will be expecting additions to a squad that was ravaged by injury struggles last term, especially in defence.

Raphael Varane has left the club, while Lisandro Martinez and Harry Maguire struggled with injuries last campaign.

United are in the market for centre-back options, with Bayern Munich's Matthjis de Ligt and Jarrad Branthwaite, of Everton, both linked as potential additions.

Brown insists that position must be the priority for United in the transfer window.

"Branthwaite had a good season," Brown added. "It's been difficult for Everton, but his personal performances have been very highly rated and De Ligt as we know is a great player.

"Depending on what happens at Munich, you never know, but I think a priority is a defender coming in alongside Martinez and if we could get one of them, I'd be very happy as a fan."

Cristiano Ronaldo will bounce back from his Euro 2024 disappointment and find form due to his elite mentality, according to former Manchester United team-mate Wes Brown.

The Portugal captain is the record appearance maker (29) and goalscorer (14) at the Euros, yet has failed to find the back of the net in this edition of the competition.  

Ronaldo was reduced to tears after his penalty was saved by Jan Oblak in extra time before making amends and scoring in their last-16 penalty shoot-out win over Slovenia.

That brought questions once more over the veteran forward's ability and influence for Roberto Martinez's side, who face France in the quarter-finals on Friday.

However, Brown, who spent six years with Ronaldo at Manchester United, believes his former team-mate has the mentality to recover and prove his doubters wrong in Germany.

"Mentality [wise], there's no one better," Brown said, speaking to Stats Perform at the Home of Adidas football in Berlin. 

"He'd be disappointed he didn't score the penalty in normal time, that would have frustrated him, but there were a lot of people I was talking to, and they thought he might not even start games.

"I totally disagreed and thought he's still got it to perform. He will be disappointed he's not scored, but he's a team player, he's won the competition before, and he just wants to do well, helping the team.”

Though the five-time Ballon d'Or winner has a list of records to his name, he has added some unwanted statistics to his displays after an underwhelming Euro 2024.

Ronaldo is the biggest expected goals (xG) underperformer in the tournament (0 goals from 2.75 xG), while he has had nine shots on target, which is the joint-highest along with Germany's Kai Havertz.

No player has had as many shots as Ronaldo during UEFA's flagship international competition either. He is five clear of any other player, while only Havertz has a higher xG (3.6 to Ronaldo’s 2.75).

Gareth Southgate must look towards starting Anthony Gordon or Cole Palmer in England's Euro 2024 quarter-final against Switzerland on Saturday, says former Three Lions defender Wes Brown.

England seemed set to be heading out in the last 16 last Sunday until Jude Bellingham's superb 95th-minute overhead kick sent the tie to extra time against Slovakia.

Harry Kane then headed in the winner just a minute after the restart, with England able to hold on to get into the last eight with a 2-1 comeback victory.

Southgate has resisted altering his line-up so far at the Euros, making just two changes to his starting XI in four games, yet Brown believes England would benefit from considering their two youthful attackers.

"He's [Southgate] the manager and he's stayed with the same four at the top with Bellingham there," said Brown, speaking to Stats Perform at the Home of Adidas football in Berlin.

"And I think we've all seen the likes of Palmer come on and do really well. It's just a matter of, for the next stages, are you going to change one or two players?

"I don't think it will change much in general. It's not like any of the lads have done anything bad, but no one's played brilliantly as well.

"I think that's where people talk about balance and maybe we should bring Gordon on, or Palmer especially to change it, because he is the in-form player at the moment, I think everyone would agree.

"We've managed and done enough to get through to where we are, and I think that speaks for itself considering we've not played great, fluent football."

England scored just two goals as they topped Group C with one win and two draws, and their games produced the fewest expected goals (xG) among the teams during the group stage (2.26 for, 1.13 against).

Bellingham's leveller was the first shot on target against Slovakia in the last 16, though Brown credited the team's mentality to keep going until the end.

"The way we've been playing, we've not really created much," Brown, a 23-cap international for England, said.

"I know we hit the post, and we had one other opportunity. [But it’s] not quite up to the standard everybody hoped we were going to be. But we're through.

"I think that's very important; the lads have maintained the mentality to keep going and get the goals when needed. I know for a fact we can play much better and we've got another opportunity now to do that against Switzerland at the weekend."

England, however, suffered a blow early on in the last 16, as Marc Guehi received his second booking of the tournament in the third minute, ruling him out of Saturday's game.

The Crystal Palace centre-back has received plaudits for his performances so far, yet Southgate is now facing a dilemma over who will partner John Stones in defence.

"It's a tough one," Brown added. "The obvious choice is either [Ezri] Konza or [Lewis] Dunk.

"Dunk hasn't had any game time at the moment. Konza came on the last time and played out of position a little bit, so I would have thought it would be Konza.

"But the manager is going to have to come up with a decision, he could easily move a few other people around, I don't know, could you play [Kyle] Walker there?

"There's a lot to think about, but if you're talking like-for-like, you've probably got to bring Konza in."

First-round leader Dustin Risdon widened his lead to three strokes on the second day of the 54th Jamaica Golf Open Championships at the Tryall Golf Club in Hanover on Tuesday.

Cristiano Ronaldo is convinced his move to Manchester United will be a "big thing in the next three or four years" and insists he is "not here for a vacation".

The former Real Madrid forward netted 118 times in 292 appearances across all competitions for United, lifting three Premier League trophies and the Champions League during a glorious six-year spell between 2003 and 2009.

The Portugal captain returned to Manchester earlier in the week for the first time since his arrival from Juventus, after breaking Ali Daei's all-time international scoring record against the Republic of Ireland with his 110th and 111th goals for his country.

Speaking exclusively to former team-mate Wes Brown in an interview with United's official website, Ronaldo declared his return is not just for nostalgia.

"I am not here for a vacation," the 36-year-old said.

"As I told you, before was good, winning important things and I wore the shirt before many years ago, but I am here to win again.

"I am capable, me and my team-mates. I am ready to go. It is a good chance for me, for the supporters, for the club, to get one step ahead.

"I am ready and I think I will be a huge thing in the next three or four years."

Ronaldo is in line to feature against Newcastle United on Saturday, the Magpies being the only club the returning star managed a Premier League hat-trick against in his first spell in Manchester.