Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has called on his stars to step up to the plate and lead the team out of the difficult situation they find themselves in. He also addressed rumors about his future, saying he and the Man Utd hierarchy were on the same “long-term journey”.
Erik ten Hag Wants Manchester United Superstars To Take Responsibility
The most successful team in English soccer history, Manchester United have been well below their best this season. They have amassed a mere seven points from six Premier League matches and are toiling in 13th place in the Premier League rankings. The Red Devils also played poorly in the UEFA Europa League opener last week, drawing 1-1 with FC Twente at Old Trafford.
On the back of Sunday’s (September 29) disappointing 3-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League, the Mancunians travel to Estadio do Dragao for their UEFA Europa League Matchday 2 clash with FC Porto on Thursday, October 3. Ten Hag knows he cannot afford to lose this game, and has urged players like Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford, Lisandro Martinez, and Matthijs de Ligt to lead by example.
Speaking to the press ahead of the Porto clash, the Dutchman said (via The Mirror):
“Everyone has to take responsibility and that starts with me as a manager. But of course it’s also on the pitch, with the players you mention, but maybe also others who have leadership skills.
“They have to stand up and every game is important for us. We know every opponent is always 100 percent motivated, so we have to be ready as a team and as individuals, to compete and to fight with them. Then you need some leaders on the pitch who can guide the process in any game.”
Ten Hag Seemingly Not Worried About His Future
There has been a lot of speculation lately about Ten Hag’s future, but the former Ajax coach is admittedly on good terms with the board.
“We talk every day and we are on a common journey, an agreement we made in the summer. We had the discussion, we had the review, we made our decisions, we refreshed and we reset the staff,” he added on his future.
“It’s a long-term journey, we went in the boat and we met on the same page in the summer, so we will keep going in the process and we will talk every day. Every day we will evaluate, review the process where it’s necessary, and we will make our decisions. It’s not important what’s external, it’s only important what’s internal, and internally we’ve just be dealing with the defeat to Tottenham and nothing else.”
After the Europe League meeting with Porto, United will travel to Villa Park for their Premier League Matchday 7 clash with Aston Villa on Sunday, October 6. Fresh off their historic 1-0 win over Bayern Munich, Unai Emery’s Villa will fancy inflicting another defeat on the underperforming Man Utd.
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