When is an excuse not an excuse?

Manchester United have lost two of their opening three Premier League games

Erik ten Hag offered up some reasons why Manchester United had struggled so far this season, then said he wasn't making excuses.

It rather begs the question of why he mentioned them? Or, in the context of talking about negative results, are excuses different to reasons?

They were all legitimate; transitional period, integrating young players, dealing with injuries. Yet are they not the same for every club?

Ten Hag said his aim during the summer was to get enough cover in each position to deal with a season he feels will turn into a 'survival of the fittest'.

There are legitimate issues - how fit is Manuel Ugarte for instance? Since his £50.2m signing from PSG he hasn't played a game or trained with his new club prior to the international break and only returned on Thursday afternoon.

But the time is soon drawing near when Ten Hag has to deliver - consistently. And no explanations or excuses will cover that.