‘He is fighting’ – Ten Hag warns Antony about earning a place in the team

Erik ten Hag says Antony can “bounce back” in the battle for a starting berth in the Manchester United team.

Antony began to lose his place in the team towards the end of last season, but the new campaign begun with Amad Diallo being the preferred option on the right wing.

The Brazilian winger could argue that he is behind three players in the pecking order for widemen at United. Those ahead of him include Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford and Amad, so there is plenty of competition in the squad.

Competition is healthy once you have players with the right mindset. They must all prove themselves to earn a place in the squad, which is exactly the message Erik ten Hag sent Antony at his pre-match press conference on Tuesday.

The reporters asked whether Antony would start against Barnsley in the Carabao Cup third round clash at Old Trafford.

“He is fighting, fighting for his position,” Ten Hag said, as quoted by the Irish Examiner. “That’s what we expect from every player who is in the squad at Manchester United, what they should do.

“That is professional football, that is top football, those are the laws – you pick the team where you think you have the most chance to win a game, so the players have to fight for their positions, and you pick the XI who have the best dynamic and the best chemistry.

“Now he has to bounce back and he has the abilities to do it. So if he is doing the right thing, he can make competition with them.” 

Ten Hag was then asked if Antony was quite a way off where he needs to be, but the Dutchman added: “No. I think the other players are doing so well, they’re contributing. We have Amad (Diallo), Garna (Alejandro Garnacho) – very effective. (Marcus) Rashford scoring at the weekend.

“So he has to earn the right in training but the others are doing really well, so he has to get over them.” Ten Hag added: “Of course he is impatient. He wants to play and he’s fighting to play.” 

Antony, 24, has only played one minute of action this season after coming off the bench in the 2-1 defeat against Brighton. Let us know in the comments section if you think he will start against Barnsley.

[Photo by Darren Staples / AFP]

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