Key quotes: Ten Hag on injuries, squad selection and more
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag sat down on Tuesday morning to discuss our upcoming Europa League game against FC Twente in a press conference at Carrington.
It is our opening bout in the new-look competition, the first of eight initial games that will be split across home and away fixtures to determine our place in the 36-team league table.
The Reds boss was asked about the likes of Luke Shaw returning from injury, managing the squad throughout a hectic schedule and using the Europa League to further our ambitions.
Keep scrolling to read what Ten Hag had to say in his pre-match media briefing...
Team news for United v Twente
ArticleRead Erik ten Hag's update on Luke Shaw, as the Eredivisie club name their travelling squad.
NO NEW RETURNEES
"No, no difference to the squad from last Saturday against Crystal Palace."
SHAW'S COMEBACK
"I think it's probably [before the international break], but I can't say this for 100 per cent sure."
BALANCING THE SQUAD
"We need a squad, more than 11, to line up. We need more players. And then, from game to game, we will pick a team. But you can't address it, this is the best XI in this moment, and we will see. And, of course, form is part of it. Tactics is also part of it. But definitely, the management of the load of the players is definitely part of it."
CREATING CHANCES
"Concerned [about scoring goals]? We create a lot of chances in the first games of the season. Last week we scored seven against Barnsley, so we are capable of scoring many goals. But it's a part of the game we have to be better at, we have to improve. We have to kill more in the box."
FIXTURE CONGESTION
"I think, as a club alone, you can't change this. It's more about the total industry. It's about clubs, and players, and coaches, and so many others, who are there in the environment of football, who have to work on this to improve the game, but of course to find the right balance, because in the end of the day, it's financial. And also, we are professional, so revenues have to come. But, yeah, we have to balance this out."
Ten Hag’s press conference v Twente
PRESS CONFERENCE | Don’t miss Erik’s briefing before the Europa League match against his former club, FC Twente…
EUROPA LEAGUE OPPORTUNITY
"It's an opportunity, so there are more roads to achieve the targets you want, and this is definitely also a road. So, yes, of course, it's the most difficult probably, because in a tournament of 32, you have to be the best. But it's a target, and it's a road we want to go [down]."
TWENTE CONNECTIONS
"Well, there's a great deal of connections to and fro between MUFC and FC Twente. Between me and Rene Hake, me and Ruud [van Nistelrooy]. Also, connections forged through the various Ajax players we've all been involved with."
THOUGHTS ON THE DRAW
"I would have preferred to have played against somebody else [other than Twente]. It's not nice to have to hurt something you love."