‘You need character’: Ten Hag urges Manchester United to keep up rebound
Manchester United’s 7-0 thrashing at Liverpool will not alter Erik ten Hag’s transfer plans but the manager has challenged his players to show grit and determination to rebound swiftly from their Anfield humiliation.
Thursday night’s 4-1 Europa League last-16 first-leg win against Real Betis was the first step in banishing the immediate memory of the trip to Anfield. Beating Southampton on Sunday would ensure their challenge to secure a Champions League berth was on track.
“No, it can’t change after one game,” Ten Hag said of the club’s recruitment plans. Work is going on in the background at United, who are interested in Jude Bellingham, Mason Mount and Harry Kane as they look to build on an impressive first season under the Dutchman.
“We go from game to game,” Ten Hag said. “We are not looking over our shoulders. We have to focus on our process and what others are doing is not for us. We have to improve our game and every player has to improve it. So we have to win games and do that game after game.”
The Anfield demise was a shock to everyone considering the improvements made under Ten Hag and the fact they had one defeat in their previous 11 league matches. “When the season comes to an end it’s going to be even more difficult for every team because the pressure will be higher and higher,” Ten Hag said. “So you need character, you need determination, you need resilience, you need a team with personalities and I think we’ve already shown several times this season that this team can deal with setbacks.”
Against Real Betis there was an obvious lack of confidence in the early stages but United are tougher nowadays and were able to get out of a rut through hard work and moments of individual quality to make them firm favourites for a Europa League quarterfinal spot.
“Today [Thursday] we have seen an example, but after Brentford, Arsenal, we also bounced back after [Manchester] City. Betis is part one and Sunday has to be another one but I think with this team we can rely on that, but it demands a lot of energy, a lot of togetherness from a lot of players to get the performances that we’ve shown.”