Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag admits he is "impatient" in his quest to transform the team into a credible force.
United have won only three of their eight games so far this season and were held to a 1-1 draw by Twente in their opening Europa League match at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.
Tottenham head to United on Sunday as one of their main competitors for a top-four finish and United have scored a meagre five goals in their five Premier League fixtures.
United have invested more than £600million on signings since Ten Hag took over in May 2022 and there were some grumblings from supporters at the conclusion of the draw with Twente.
"When I started, we spoke about more we had to make standards in the dressing room," Ten Hag said. "I think we turned a corner and now we have to work with the squad. That takes time.
"Of course, it's not good behaviour from me, I am impatient, I want to go straight forward. But also be fair, we had success in the last two seasons and we have to work very hard for more success.
"I say it again: we won two trophies in the last two seasons and this season we are also ambitious, don't get us wrong, we want to win another one, we want to be as high as possible, in every game we will go for the win, it doesn't matter who the opponent is."
United have missed more big chances than any other Premier League side this term and Ten Hag reiterated that goalscoring is their biggest problem. "Not scoring goals. Not scoring goals enough," Ten Hag stressed. "That's the problem, that's the key area: to score more goals as a team.
"We have players across the team who have the abilities to score. But it's clear you see all the opportunities we've created, we've not scored enough.
"You always work into a season, you have to build it, the structures in defending, structures in possession, of course. You start with the build-up, I think we have the structures there quite right.
"Across all the games we have more possession than the opponent and then it's about what we do with the possession. We bring the ball into the final third, we bring the ball into the box a lot but we do a lot but we have to take advantage, more benefit of it."
United will have the same squad to choose from against Spurs with defenders Luke Shaw (calf), Tyrell Malacia (knee) and Leny Yoro (metatarsal) all still sidelined.
Spurs beat United at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last season and claimed a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford, avoiding defeat to United in a campaign for the first time since 2013-14.
"I think it will be a very intensive game," Ten Hag added. "It always is against Tottenham and I think it's our style as well, I think it's gonna be a very dynamic, attractive game.
"Every opponent has strengths and weaknesses. Tottenham have their strengths, definitely. Their philosophy is very clear, very attacking, but that also leaves space but they take into account and that can maybe help.
"But you have to be very good against Tottenham. If you want to control the game you need again a high performance level then we will create again, and then take your chances."