by Erik ten Hag is not afraid of his job, even if Manchester United lose at Liverpool on Sunday.
Three wins in the last four games and an early exit from the Champions League have put the pressure on Ten Hag as he prepares to take his team to Anfield, where they were beaten 7-0 by United last season.
But Ten Hag has been told he has the club’s support and will go to Liverpool determined to show his side have learned from the March shellacking.
“I feel that and they say that,” said the United manager when asked what gave him confidence that he has the support of the club’s hierarchy.
“So that’s fine, that’s fine but I’m focusing on the process, I’m focusing on making this team play better, I’m focusing on improving the individuals. That’s my concern. That’s all I’m doing – focusing on the right thing and that’s the team.
“It’s not a cause for concern because I’m here to win and I have to make the team play better. If you play well, even then good is not good enough. We are inconsistent so I have to work on the team playing for longer periods at a higher level.”
‘Man United’s future is very good’
Telegraph Sport reported this week that while there is no desire for change under the current regime and there is sympathy for the challenges on and off the pitch, Ten Hag’s long-term position is under threat and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos Sport group waiting. take control of football operations once a £1.3 billion bid for a 25 per cent stake in the club is confirmed.
Asked if he could ensure his future would not depend on Liverpool’s result, Ten Hag said: “I’m not worried about that. I want to win, I want to win with my team. I want to go forward with my team in the right direction so here we are in a project.
“Last season, we were completely in the right direction. The project now does not manage the standards we expect and we are blocked. But we can still win this season and in the long term for sure.
“I think the future of Man United is very good. If you see how many good players we have in the squad, how many good young players we have who have real potential to play at the highest levels in the world. But we have to develop him so I’m sure when the injuries go back the team will play better.”
Shaw is fit, Maguire is not
Ten Hag said Harry Maguire would be missing “for the next few games” after he was withdrawn from Bayern Munich’s 1-0 win on Tuesday with a groin injury, but the manager does not expect the England defender to play face a long layoff.
Luke Shaw is expected to be available after training on Friday, despite being a substitute against Bayern with a tight hamstring, while striker Marcus Rashford is back from illness.
Ten Hag believes his players must use the memory of last season’s drubbing at Anfield as motivation – rather than allowing themselves to be psychologically scarred by it.
“I think everyone knows and everyone is very motivated when you get to Anfield, it’s a great place to go,” he said. “You know it’s going to be difficult and what every top footballer wants is to have that challenge, so you have to look forward. Last year, of course, we take that in mind, but you also have to take advantage of it and learn from it and on Sunday we can prove that.”
‘We will be confident’
Asked if he was worried about returning to Liverpool, Ten Hag said: “No. We will field a team that can challenge, a team that is confident of winning that game. We are preparing the team as well as we can and we are confident that we can field a team to win there.
“I didn’t see last season that we were scared there. It was a bad experience, but it’s not like – you start again. Last year, I think we played really well in the first half and got hammered right after half time and then we fell and, yeah, that can’t happen.
“But last year, it was a different team and at least different players. We won’t ignore it, but we go there and be confident, and I know my players, for going there and being confident from start to finish.
“We have to fight there, we have to challenge there and you go with the idea so we prepare them. We will go there to win.”
Asked if he had revisited the 7-0 with his players, Ten Hag said: “We know that, but I don’t think it’s the right thing and last year, it was it was the past tense. What we can change is the future. Sunday is a new game.”
Finishing bottom of their Champions League group sent United out of Europe entirely, rather than into the Europa League, and Ten Hag believes a less frantic schedule in the new year could be a boost for the top four hope for his team. United are currently sixth, six points ahead of Manchester City in fourth.
“Of course, that’s it [top four] the goal,” he said. “I think the way you describe it, that’s true. We had so many injuries in the first part of the season, but now we have less games so the load will be less and that can give players a chance to recover and we will have more time on the training ground and we can be fresher. in the games.”
