• Friday, May 17, 2024
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Ten Hag hits back at Man United critics

Erik-ten-Hag

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has slammed critics suggesting that the Red Devils need to find consistency, pointing out that his team has lost just once in 2024 so far.

The Red Devils booked their spot in the FA Cup quarter-finals thanks to a 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest on Wednesday night.

It was a bright start to the game but the contest then went downhill somewhat and was quite drab for the majority of it before a late Casemiro goal made the difference.

The victory saw Manchester United bounce back from a very disappointing 2-1 defeat to Fulham at Old Trafford on Saturday and set up a blockbuster meeting with Liverpool in the last eight.

Ten Hag’s men have now won seven of their last eight matches and, despite accepting that the Fulham performance was poor, the Dutchman does not accept that his side is inconsistent.

“We were consistent,” Ten Hag told the BBC.

“We lost one time in 2024 so we are consistent. But it’s not so easy when you have the whole backline, you have to shuffle and play players in different positions.

“I’m very proud we did it, we managed it. Every win is important but we take it 24 hours and then we move on.”

With the likes of Lisandro Martinez, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw out, Ten Hag fielded Sofyan Amrabat at left-back, with Victor Lindelof and Raphael Varane at centre-back.

On the prospect of Liverpool in the next round, and before that the Manchester derby on Sunday, Ten Hag feels his team are showing they know how to win games.

“Fantastic, fantastic games coming up,” he added.

“This team, what they showed today is great but they have to show every game and that is what I’ve seen in the last couple of months, only not on Saturday.

“Sometimes it’s the case but you have to find a way to win and today we found a way to win.”