Ten Hag: I have backing of club bosses Foster not ready for AFCON - Kompany

MANCHESTER – Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has said he still has the backing of the club despite being knocked out of Europe, and added that he is ‘not concerned’ that a heavy defeat to Liverpool could crank up the pressure on his job.

United head to Anfield on the back of a run of one win in their last five games, including the 1-0 defeat to Bayern Munich on Tuesday which ended their interest in this season’s Champions League. Premier League leaders Liverpool await tomorrow but Ten Hag insists he’s not worried another loss could further damage his position.

“I am not concerned about that,” Ten Hag said in a news conference yesterday. “I want to win and to progress the team in the right direction. I feel the support of the club and they say it but actually that is fine and that is OK, but I am focusing on the process, to make this team play better, make the individuals better and that is my concern.”

United haven’t won at Anfield since January 2016 when Louis van Gaal was manager and Morgan Schneiderlin and Matteo Darmian started the game. Ten Hag’s team were hammered there 7-0 last season and this time the Dutch coach will have to pick a team without captain Bruno Fernandes, who is suspended, and Harry Maguire.

LONDON – Burnley Coach Vincent Kompany says Bafana Bafana star striker Lyle Foster is not in a position to play at the forthcoming Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in the Ivory Coast.

This comes after Foster, who in November took an indefinite break from football to receive specialist care for his mental health, was included by Bafana coach Hugo Broos in his 50-man AFCON preliminary squad.

Speaking to Burnley Express, Kompany said Foster, who hasn’t featured for the

Clarets since October 21, cautioned against talking the striker into taking part in the tournament which takes place between January 13 and February 11. “Unfortunately, at the moment he’s not in a position where he can go to the national team, he just can’t,” said Kompany.

“It’s not something he can do at the moment, going away for a long time and being in a very different environment. His love for his country has no limits and his desire to do well has no limits, but that would be going against the advice of every expert who has been assisting him in re