Utd boss Ten Hag insists he has backing of club

MANCHESTER, England — 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.

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Premier League leaders Liverpool await on Sunday 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 on Friday. “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, who suffered a groin injury against Bayern.

Luke Shaw is available after training as normal on Friday while Marcus Rashford is fit again after illness.

“I think everyone is highly motivated when you go to Anfield,” said Ten Hag.

“It is a great place to go. We know it is going to be tough but that is what every top footballer wants to have — the challenge. Last year [the 7-0] we take that in our memory but you have to also take the benefit from it and learn from it.”

Despite a dismal start to the season which has seen United lose more games (12) than they’ve won (11), Ten Hag believes the future is bright if they can find a way out of their poor form.

“The future for Man United is very good,” he said. “You can see how many good players we have in the squad, how many good young players who have really high potential to play at top levels worldwide.

“But we have to develop that. I am sure that when the injuries come back we will perform better.”