According to reports, Manchester United’s defeat at Brighton in stoppage time will not derail their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League, as per their coach, Erik ten Hag.
Brighton’s win was due to Alexis Mac Allister’s penalty kick in the extra time, which gave Brighton a 1-0 win. However, ten Hag believes that his team is capable of bouncing back from setbacks and is confident that they will do so again as they look to wrap up a top-four finish in the Premier League.
United is in fourth place, just four points ahead of fifth-placed Liverpool, but ten Hag’s team holds a vital game in hand over Jurgen Klopp’s men. Despite Liverpool’s winning run, ten Hag is not panicking and trusts his players to secure their position in the top four.
He said, “We have everything in our hands, so we have to focus on our performance. I trust my players, so I am quite convinced about that.”
Ten Hag is aware of the importance of the Champions League to Manchester United’s DNA and wants to see the team compete with the best teams in the world. “Manchester United, of course, we need to be there in the Champions League,” he said.
“We want to be there because we want to challenge with the best teams in the world, so we do everything that’s in our power to get that done.”
United hasn’t won the Champions League since 2008, and their last appearance in the final was in 2011. Nonetheless, ten Hag is optimistic that his team can qualify for the competition again this year. The coach insists that there is no time to dwell on the disappointment of the Brighton loss and that his team must focus on their upcoming game against West Ham.
“There is no time to stay in this disappointment, so in one hour we go onto the game against West Ham United. All focus on that. We prepare for them, we make a good plan, the players have to take responsibility, and they will do. I count on them.”
Comments are closed.