Pressure is growing on Michel Sanchez as Ajax are now winless in their last three games.

Before the international break, Ajax seemed to be gaining momentum, but they have failed to build on that momentum over the last two games and questions are being asked about whether Michel's system is developing quickly enough.

One thing Ajax have been criticised for this season is the high press. In the Eredivisie this season, Ajax have won the ball in the final third 2.88 times per 90 on average. They rank 14th in the league in this metric. In comparison, FC Twente, who are 1st in this metric, win the ball back 5.3 times per 90 on average.

Statistics published by Voetbal International reveal that Michel ranks last among recent Ajax managers for possession won in the final third. Erik ten Hag ranks highest. Under Ten Hag, Ajax won possession back 6.87 times per 90 in the final third, which is 3.99 more than Ajax under Michel.

Last season in La Liga, Girona won possession back in the final third 3.10 times per 90 minutes under Michel's guidance. Only two teams ranked lower in that metric, which shows that the high press is something Michel has struggled with even before he arrived in Amsterdam.

Speaking to ESPN, Ajax centre-back Youri Baas was asked about Ajax's high press. He admitted it was something they needed to improve, but also revealed they do not have much time on the training ground to work on it.

"It suits Ajax to press forward and win the ball back quickly, but we need to choose the timing and intensity a bit better to really step forward and win the ball," Baas explained.

"There isn't much time for training when the matches follow each other quickly, but we learn from every game. The result isn't what we wanted, but we can draw a lot of lessons from it and identify areas for improvement."

Michel has made mistakes this season, but he has also been given a very difficult job.

As Baas mentioned, Ajax do not have much time to train due to the number of games they have to play. In addition to that, several of the players Ajax signed in the summer arrived late in the transfer window.

Viktor Tsygankov, Sofyan Amrabat, Thilo Kehrer and Simon Adingra all arrived in the last seven days of the transfer window, and Yves Bissouma was signed after the transfer window closed. Because these players arrived so late, Michel did not have the opportunity to work with them on the training field during pre-season.

Michel needs to do better, but Ajax needed to be more proactive in the transfer window to ensure he had more time on the training field to work with his players on tactical concepts. Being more proactive would have also given these players more time to adapt to the club before the season started.