Manchester United’s next test is against Moldovan side Sheriff Tiraspol and Erik ten Hag will be hoping his side can recover their momentum after falling to a 0-1 defeat at the hands of Real Sociedad in their Europa League opener.
The Red Devils’ Premier League form has seen a massive upturn with four wins on the trot following losses in their opening two games against Brighton and Brentford.
The four wins include the scalps of arch-rivals Liverpool and current league leaders Arsenal. Two away wins against Southampton and Leicester City have added to the feel-good factor around Carrington.
Momentum lost?
That momentum has slowly dissipated following the Queen’s death which had forced the Premier League to cancel two of United’s fixtures against Crystal Palace and Leeds United.
Ten Hag on more training time: “I think we had good days, where we could give the players some time for themselves, but then also, after that, we had that time when we had some really good sessions. I think it will be really beneficial for the future, and to start tomorrow.” [mu]
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But Ten Hag is not necessarily seeing it that way. He feels the team can be well served with the additional time spent training at Carrington.
The players also got some much-needed rest and could give their all in the training sessions.
“I think we had good days, where we could give the players some time for themselves, but then also, after that, we had that that time when we had some really good sessions.
I think it will be really beneficial for the future, and to start tomorrow,” the Dutch boss was quoted as saying by the club’s media team.
One of the major challenges for the manager will be to keep his squad happy and ready for United’s condensed fixtures list following the international break.
ETH happy with extra training
Rotation will be key but the manager is not thinking that far ahead at the moment.
“First, we have to see this game. Let’s focus on that and then we will see. Of course, I am aware there is a break and we are planning but that’s not important at this moment. There is only one thing that is important and that is this game,” Ten Hag revealed.
The former Ajax boss will not have been pleased with the way the players performed during the Sociedad match. He had given chances to a few of the fringe players like Fred but they did not impress.
Cristiano Ronaldo‘s form will also be crucial with Marcus Rashford out injured. He is yet to open his account and has looked rusty when he has played.
The Sheriff match is likely to see Ten Hag employing a strong starting line-up instead of rotating like he did for the previous game as United look to pick up their first win of the competition.
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