Erik ten Hag insists he ISN’T scared about losing his job or the prospect of Man United returning to Anfield… despite his side’s 7-0 thrashing by Liverpool in March
- Erik ten Hag is still bullish about his position in the Manchester United hotseat
- He insisted his players have not been mentally scarred by the 7-0 loss in March
- Do Man United have what it takes to exploit Liverpool’s defensive vulnerability? It’s All Kicking Off
Erik ten Hag has no fears over losing his job as Manchester United manager or the prospect of another Anfield demolition at the hands of Liverpool on Sunday.
Ten Hag returns to Merseyside where he was hammered 7-0 by United’s arch rivals in March. He is under mounting pressure after losing half his games this season – and twice in the past week to Bournemouth and Bayern Munich.
But the Dutchman insisted on Friday that he has the club’s backing despite concerns he may be under threat once Sir Jim Ratcliffe takes charge of football operations at Old Trafford.
‘I feel that (backing) and they tell (me) that, so that’s fine,’ Ten Hag said.
‘That’s okay but I’m focusing on the process. That’s all I’m doing, focusing on the right thing and that is the team.
Erik ten Hag insists he is not fearing for his job or dreading the prospect of returning to Anfield
Manchester United were thumped 7-0 by Liverpool in March and travel there on Sunday
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‘There is no concern because I’m here to win and I have to make the team play better.
‘I’m not concerned. I want to win, and I want to win with my team. I want to progress with my team in the right direction so we are here in a project.
‘Last season, we were absolutely in the right direction. We haven’t managed the standards we expect, and we’ve had a setback. But we still can win this season and in the longer-term definitely.
‘I think the future for Man United is very good. If you see how many good players we have in the squad, and how many good young players who have really high potential to play top levels worldwide.
‘But we have to develop it, so I’m sure when the injuries get back the team will play better.’ United will be without a number of senior players after Harry Maguire joined Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez, Christian Eriksen and Mason Mount on the casualty list.
Captain Bruno Fernandes will also miss the game through suspension, although Luke Shaw is expected to be available and so is Marcus Rashford after fighting off a virus to resume training on Friday.
United fans could be forgiven for a sense of trepidation going back to Anfield where their team have only scored once on their last eight visits, and lost the last two games by an aggregate score of 11-0.
However, Ten Hag denied his players have been mentally scarred by the seven-goal defeat, saying: ‘I haven’t seen last season that we were scared there.
‘It was a bad experience, but it’s not similar. You start again. Last year, the first half we played very decent and got hammered just after half-time, then we collapsed. Yeah, that can’t happen.
Erik ten Hag claimed ‘the future for Man United is very good’ despite their troubles
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‘But it was last year. It was a different team and different players, in part at least.
‘We will not ignore it, but we go there and we will be confident. We have to fight, we have to challenge. We go there to win.
‘Everyone is highly motivated when you go to Anfield. It’s a great place to go. What every top footballer wants is to have that challenge, so you have to look forward.
‘Last year, it was the past. What we can change is the future. Sunday is a new game.’ Meanwhile, Donny van de Beek has agreed terms over a loan move to Eintract Frankfurt in January. United and the German club are discussing a loan fee with an option to buy for £12.5million.
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