Erik Ten Hag Happy With Manchester United’s Response To Derby Humiliation

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has declared his happiness at how his side have responded to their heavy defeat to Manchester City earlier this month.

At the start of October United were comprehensively beaten 6-3 by their local rivals at the Etihad stadium, but since then have gone on an unbeaten run of seven games, winning five times and drawing twice.

United have beaten Everton and Tottenham, and drawn with Newcastle and Chelsea in the Premier League, while triumphing twice over Omonia and once over Sheriff in the Europa League.

“I think some lessons we have learned [since then], but for the future we have to improve a lot to face such opponents who are at the level of Man City,” he has said.

“Man City is a really good team and also we came out of an international break and in that game players just forgot our rules and our principles and our rules and our beliefs.”

“When we play against City, if one player makes a mistake and then it falls like a pack of cards and it didn’t work. We have seen on the day and then we also see it is massive, and you get good lessons for the weeks after. That’s also what I said after, but you don’t want to have the experience from such days.”

Ten Hag did acknowledge for his team to keep improving they must start scoring more goals in all competitions.

United have scored 16 goals in the Premier League this season, significantly less than some of their rivals for a top four finish, including City with 37 goals, Arsenal (25 goals) and Tottenham (26 goals). Even Leicester City in seventeenth place have scored 21 goals.

“Developing a team takes time. You can’t go from zero to 100 and you have to construct it from downsize. You need development before you go to the top, to the roof, and unfortunately it takes time.”

“I don’t have time, I’m really the most impatient, but I have to be, so it’s quite clear. Now I think we are getting better in defending with 11. I think players are more and more aware that we have to do it with 11.”

“Also, our building up I think we are improving with game to game so now we have to do also more on developing our attacking game. But also, that’s the most difficult part, so it takes even more time. You can’t increase the tempo of that process, but I want it. We have to take the time for it.”

United’s leading scorer last season was Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored 18 in the Premier League, and 24 overall, but so far this season he has scored only one league goal as Ten Hag has limited his playing time.

After the Portuguese player’s goal against Sheriff on Thursday night Ten Hag was asked if he could score the same amount of goals this season as he had last season.

“It’s up to him, but I think when you collect all the chances he creates, the team creates for him in the last weeks, he was there,” the Dutchman replied. “You see, he is still capable to get into the right positions and I know he’s capable to finish them, so it’s possible.”

Ronaldo’s appearances have mostly come in the Europa League, prompting Ten Hag to be asked if the player needed to fight his way back into his Premier League team.

“Yeah, I know that some see it like this, but I don’t have a Europe team and I don’t have a Premier League team,” he said. “It’s about, I look to the opponent and see what we need against that opponent, and now I have to focus on West Ham United for Sunday and then we will pick the team to start but also to have plan B or plan C, in the pocket to win that game. And that is what we need, finally, to win games, and we not only need 11 players, we need the whole squad.”

Manchester United have been linked with signing a striker in the forthcoming January transfer window, but Ten Hag was reluctant to confirm if this would happen.

“I think in this moment we are not focusing on that. In this moment we have to work on developing our team, develop our attacking department, our attacking game. And we have strikers, we have good ones, and now we are working on the progress of that.”