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Erik ten Hag has revealed more about his thoughts following Sunday’s FA Cup win in the second part of his pre-match press conference ahead of tomorrow’s Premier League clash with Sheffield United.
Asked at the presser what winning the FA Cup would mean, Ten Hag replied:
“It’s over, over-performing with all the problems we have had.
“Getting into the final is already a big achievement, but we are here for trophies.
“We are not satisfied by being in the final, we want to win it and that is our mentality. That is why we are successful. That’s why I am successful over 10 years as a manager, I always bring out the maximum of each squad.”
Continuing on the theme of two FA Cup finals in a row, the United manager added:
“I can see the fans are not happy with it, but they get fed by opinions. I heard the fans are very happy we are again in the FA Cup final. Even for United, it is not business as usual, they were not so often in the final and they were never in two times in a row.”
Ten Hag was also asked about Amad Diallo and the lack of game time he has had.
“Amad deserves it,” he replied.
“But don’t forget he had a long period in the season injured, so we rebuilt him and now he has had some opportunities and [made] a real contribution.
“[On Sunday] He played in the position that is not his best position. He started as a striker and then he had to play in the midfield, so he did well.”
In the first part of the press conference covered here, Ten Hag described the social media and media reaction to United’s FA Cup semi-final win as “embarrassing”. He was asked more about these comments in the embargoed section of the presser, but this time he placed more blame on himself, saying:
“I haven’t read the comments. I have seen the reactions in general. I was annoyed. I was annoyed by the team, by myself because I am part of the team and it shouldn’t happen.
“But also, especially when you sit down and analyse it, it is also part of bad luck. The deflected shot, the penalty should not have been given. But I was annoyed by myself.”
In regard to tomorrow’s game, a deepening injury crisis could mean that four more players – Alejandro Garnacho, Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford and Scott McTominay – are added to the injury list. The manager said this might create the need for some ingenuity in his team selection.
“Tomorrow we will be creative and put a team out which is able to win the game… even if we have to be really creative and put players in other positions,” he said.
Some of the youngsters that have been named in recent squads, however, such as Louis Jackson, Harry Amass and Ethan Wheatley, were selected for the Under 18’s tonight, so it seems unlikely they will take part.
Tomorrow’s match at Old Trafford kicks off at 8pm.
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