Erik ten Hag says he hopes to have Jonny Evans back for Sunday’s trip to West Ham.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference ahead of the game, the manager confirmed:
“We’re staying overnight, and then we go straight to London, and then training on Saturday in London. We have to be ready, short turnaround and we expect of course Bruno back, and hopefully also Jonny Evans.”
“I deny that game, [I] ignore that game against Spurs because we were downsized to ten with a 1-0 losing position and then the red card was overturned, so I totally ignore that game. That is not a fair assessment to the team, to take this into consideration, because we didn’t have the chance to bounce back.”
Asked whether he is lacking depth in midfield, Ten Hag replied:
“Nah, we have Casemiro. He’s doing lately also, again, very good. We have people there who can fill in that role. We have Kobbie and I think Christian Eriksen is doing brilliant in this moment.”
The boss was asked about Manuel Ugarte’s progress after his €50m move from PSG.
“For sure, the six position is a key position in your team, and he has to learn this position in our game model. I think today is a step forward, so really pleased with his performance, and from here on he has to build on.”
“We have to stay patient but, as you see, if the quality in that position is not right it’s very difficult for a team to control games, and then I don’t even speak about dominating games
More to follow …
