Erik Ten Hag Hails Victor Lindelof’s Importance To Manchester United

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has hailed the impact his central defender Victor Lindelof has made in recent weeks.

The Swedish defender had previously endured a frustrating campaign and only started 18 of United’s 53 games in all competitions.

On 19 occasions this season Lindelof was even an unused substitute as he found himself forced to the edges of the United squad by the emergence of the central defensive partnership of Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane.

However, in light of injuries to both the French and Argentinian World Cup winners, which will see Martinez miss the rest of the season and Varane out of action until around the end of May Lindelof has been thrust back to the centre of the stage.

Last weekend Lindelof was United’s man of the match in their FA Cup semi-final victory over Brighton and Hove Albion at Wembley, stopping them from scoring over the course of two hours before stepping up to calmly score the winning penalty in the shoot-out.

“It is not always easy when you are in a club that’s Manchester United and you need a big squad,” Ten Hag said. “There are also players who are capable of playing every game, like Victor.”

“But he is not playing every game because you are not picked and then you have to wait for your moment and, when the moment is there, you have to prove it.”

“And now there are a number of games after each other that he is really contributing and really consistent in his performance, and the team needs it. So it’s a demand for a player from Manchester United as well.”

“Maybe it’s not easy, sometimes if you are disappointed, or frustrated during the season, to keep in a good level and Victor did really well. As others did really well. There are examples of it. You see, when you are needed, you give the performance and help the team to get the goals from the season.”

Ten Hag was impressed with how confidently Lindelof, who is not a regular penalty taker converted his penalty on Sunday.

“I think taking responsibility is one of the things you can expect and demand from a player at Manchester United. If you are in this place, you have to do it and, of course, you have specialists and you have others that are less comfortable, so we judge that during the season, we train that during the season and all the penalty takers, they were really great. They were so convinced and they were really great shots.”

United’s Premier League game against Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday will be their 54^th in all competitions this season, but Ten Hag has been reassured with the fitness levels of his players during this exhausting season.

“There are some good strategy behind it and we also have to credit the players. Because it’s only about them, it’s about sleep, it’s about food, it’s about recovery and that is the key to getting those fitness levels. And then you can do it and you can do it every day. Definitely, it’s character and, at the base, it’s fitness levels.”