Ten Hag on Utd players fitness and integrating new signings ahead of Fulham
Ten Hag on Utd players fitness and integrating new signings ahead of Fulham
15/08/2024
Carrington training ground, Manchester, UK
15/08/2024
Carrington training ground, Manchester, UK
Transcript
00:00Hi Erik, availability was a hot topic all of last season. As you prepare to start the new Premier League campaign,
00:07what issues are you dealing with ahead of the full-on match and will De Ligt and Maserati be ready to start on Friday?
00:14The issues are there, but it's not about the players who are not available.
00:20As I said last season, it's about the players who are available and we have a good group,
00:26we can make a strong selection and we can put out a strong team, so we will do.
00:32Will Maserati and De Ligt be ready to start tomorrow? And how's Harry Maguire?
00:37They will be in the squad. And Harry Maguire will be in the squad as well.
00:42The club had a statement about Luke Shaw. I think most people after last season thought that because he'd been away with England
00:52that he would be fit. How far is he away from actually playing for Manchester United?
00:58I think he will return in the short term. It doesn't take long.
01:05We're looking forward, of course, to Luke Shaw. A very important player for our team.
01:15He's massively important, so we want to get him back as soon as possible, but we can't force this process.
01:24In terms of your selection, obviously you do have new players, but how much attention do you have to pay to the fact that
01:32they've only just joined you and you've had players who've been away in the United States and are used to the rhythm of the team
01:39and then others that came back for the Community Shield last week, so maybe you're not going to have the side that you really want out there for the first game.
01:50No, it's true. It's not the pre-season where you can, in five or six weeks, work on the team. It's very complicated.
02:03We had the USA Tour squad, then we added the players who did the Euros and Copa America.
02:13Now new signings and now we have to make a team from it.
02:18The team is not ready, but the league starts and there are more managers to deal with this problem.
02:26We definitely have this problem, but still we have some rules, some principles and we have to make a start.
02:33We can't hide ourselves, we can't run away from it, so we have to deal with it.
02:39Eric, it's your third season in charge now, how different do you feel as manager with all the experience you've had here in the last two years?
02:50Not so different, but we know our targets, we know that we are in the right direction.
02:58We know we have won two trophies and we know our K-model, so now we have to integrate the new players where we think they can improve the K-model,
03:13they can improve the team levels and take it from there.
03:18How much higher are your expectations for this season?
03:21I have always very high expectations, but again we want to go for trophies.
03:28Eric, we spoke about Luke Shaw's absence, you tried Lissandra Martinez there,
03:33but was the attraction of Mazraoui the fact that he can actually fill in at left-back if needed?
03:40We are looking and we can sort problems over the left side,
03:45with for instance Lissandra Martinez, also Diogo Dalot is capable to play there.
03:54With Mazraoui we have an additional one who can fill in that position as long as Luke Shaw and Tyrone Malasia are not available.
04:04Just with Mazraoui, how much does he change the dynamic of the team,
04:07because he is obviously quite a different stylistic player to Aaron Mandesaka?
04:12Yes, they are different and I think he is a player and it is quite difficult to put him under pressure,
04:24especially in English football that can be very beneficial.
04:29Andy?
04:31I was going to ask you about Mazraoui, what attracts you to him, what does he bring to the team,
04:36but also how is the team going to score more goals this year?
04:43I just explained to Melissa, in English football there is always pressure on the ball,
04:49and this is a player, one of his key attributes is that it is very difficult to put him under pressure,
04:56because he often finds solutions and scores more goals.
05:02We know we create many chances and it is about composure and more clinical,
05:09and I think in both boxes that will be an attention point for us in the coming weeks, months,
05:16there we have to improve, we need too many chances.
05:20Also last week against City, against Liverpool, he created so many chances,
05:25but we have to take them and we have players with scoring abilities, enough in the team.
05:32And also in the other box, to defend the box, it was too easy,
05:36opponents were quite effective against us, like City, like also Liverpool,
05:41they didn't create so many chances, but they took the chances,
05:45so we have to be more clinical there as well, more aggressive as well, but composed.
05:51Eric, with new faces just coming through the door,
05:54they've been here a couple of days, going into the new season,
05:57how long do you think it's going to take before we see Manchester United 100 per cent?
06:06We are complete, we are now working together for, let's say, ten days,
06:14and always that will take a while, but more teams will have this problem.
06:22In the start of the season, don't drop points, work hard,
06:28make sure you are well-organised in and out of possession,
06:32that gives you the best chance, but we will not 100 per cent form,
06:37but then we have to go from game to game to improve
06:44and to get higher performance levels in the team and individual players,
06:50and we will see how quickly we can go through this process.