What does Ten Hag refuse to compromise on?

That was Erik ten Hag's response, when asked about achieving his ambitions at Manchester United, as his answer was emphatic.

The boss was repeatedly pressed on the Reds' current form during the second part of his media briefing on Tuesday, with United set to host Chelsea at Old Trafford on Wednesday night (20:15 GMT) kick-off.

Erik maintains that difficult moments will be met on the path the Reds are treading, but he is convinced he will help the club get to our desired destination.

"There will be always tough times in every journey," he said, ahead of the midweek Premier League clash with the Blues.

"We are in the right direction and I know we will get where we want to be.

"See my record. Everywhere I was, in every season, I got my targets. If we stick together and we stick to the plan and the strategy, we will get where we want to be."

The Reds enter Wednesday's fixture on the back of a disappointing 1-0 defeat at Newcastle United on Saturday and, despite being unhappy with his side's performance, Ten Hag says he and his players will work together to get more points on the board.

"Of course, negativity is never good," he said, in response to the media coverage since the loss in the north east.

"You have to take care it never kills the energy.

"But I don't care. I know, all the players know, that in this club, we are the biggest club in the world, or one of the biggest clubs in the world, and you know you get a lot of attention. And you know, in the moment, that you are not getting the results you want or playing the way you should be, there is criticism coming.

"And you have to deal with that," he stressed.

"We are together in that and there is no way you are alone there. We are in that boat together and so we will deal with it in togetherness."

Ahead of the visit of Mauricio Pochettino's side, Erik reiterated once more the expectations he has of his players, outlining the one thing he will not sway from.

"In this club, the aim is, and I think the demands and the standards should be, that you win every game," he declared.

"Go into every game with the aim, and I demand, my team and players to win every game. It doesn't matter who the opponent is and I will stick to that. That brought us, last year, very far.

"We were third in the league, in the FA Cup final, and we could even have won this FA Cup final, and we won the Carabao Cup.

"That mentality, I don't want to change this. Because that will be a drop off in culture."