Erik ten Hag sends cautious warning to fans after admitting he’s not envisioning FA Cup success right now

Erik ten Hag has seemingly sent a warning to Manchester United fans to not get too ahead of themselves in this season’s FA Cup campaign.

Last term, the Red Devils reached the final of the competition before falling at the final hurdle with a 2-1 defeat at the hands of rivals Manchester City. Now, they’re looking to avenge the heartache by going all the way this time around.

United return to action after a two-week-long break when they face Newport County in the fourth round this evening and should they oversee anything other than a dominant, convincing win against the League Two outfit, it’ll mark one of the most notable cup upsets in recent years.

Given that the season so far has been nothing short of dismal, fans are pinning their hopes on being granted some form of joy with a successful run. United were out of the Carabao Cup – a trophy they hold for now – and out of Europe entirely by the halfway stage, and currently sit 11 points away from the top four in the Premier League.

Ten Hag only focusing on the game ahead of him

However, Ten Hag can’t envision himself lifting the FA Cup at Wembley just yet and doesn’t want to tempt fate by doing so. In Friday’s press conference, he said: “I think [at] Manchester United you have to win trophies at the end of the day. And of course, Champions League is the most important with the Premier League. But then every trophy, every competition where you take part of, you have to win and that should be the mentality in this club.”

“But in this moment, don’t dream of that [winning two trophies in two seasons] and think about the next game, 100 per cent focus on that and not thinking about winning the FA Cup at this moment,” he added, as cited by ManUtd.com.