Ten Hag responds to praise Guardiola: ‘I like what I see’

Erik ten Hag is proud of the team spirit Manchester United showed in the victory over West Ham United (1-0). Although his side’s football was not sparkling in the second half, the Dutch coach sees plenty of starting points for the coming weeks. After the Premier League game, Ten Hag gave his reaction at SkySports.

Earlier this week, Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola had praised Ten Hag’s squad by stating that he “felt United are coming back”. When asked about his reaction, Ten Hag was moderately positive: “I saw signs of that in the win over Sheriff Tiraspol and in the first half of the game against Chelsea. I like what I see from United now,” the coach said.

Ten Hag did see plenty of starting points for his side, especially on the footballing front. “Just look at the second half. But the spirit we have is fabulous and we have the quality to score goals.” Ahead of the crucial Europa League game against Real Sociedad, he is therefore confident. “If we keep going like this, we will go in the right direction,” said Ten Hag, who also had words of praise for acquisition Casemiro. “He is brilliant. You can see why he has won the Champions League five times. You can see that every match, every training, he can only get better.”

Moderate compliments Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo could also count on positive words from Ten Hag. The Portuguese was allowed to appear in the starting line-up for the second time in a row on Sunday night after Ten Hag excluded him from the squad. “He did quite well. He took the initiative in the first half in putting pressure and looked for the combination.” Ten Hag did have some tips for Ronaldo. “I told him at half-time not to let himself sink in too quickly. Let the midfield and the defence do their work.”