Butt worked with Ten Hag at United before leaving the club last year.
"I think the international break has come at a good time for the manager and the team," Butt said. "He can concentrate on some stuff on the training ground.
"Hopefully he'll get the players back fit with no injuries and go again. He's got some winnable games coming up, but at Man United you're always going to be under pressure. Erik ten Hag knows that.
"To me, right down the spine of the team, people can run right through the middle. They've bought the new lad in (Manuel Ugarte), he hopefully can fill a gap. But we've got some good players, and hopefully the manager can get them playing the way he wants them to play and get some results.
"No one is saying they're going to win the league this year. If anyone says that they're jokers, so basically they're going to have to bide their time and stick with the manager. If they're not going to do that, they may as well have got rid of him in the summer."