Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is eager to see an improvement when his team take on Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup fifth round on Wednesday night.
The Reds go into their cup tie after losing 2-1 to Fulham in the Premier League at the weekend. We got what we deserved after a shocking performance and it saw our unbeaten run in 2024 come to an unexpected end.
Ten Hag has held his pre-match press conference ahead of United’s trip to The City Ground. He admits to being frustrated by the defending against Fulham and wants to see an improvement from his players against Forest.
Speaking to reporters, Ten Hag said, as quoted by the Manchester Evening News: “I was not pleased with the performance with the defending, especially on the left side, how we did the pressing because they came out, especially in the first half an hour. Several times on the left side and that can’t happen and that has to do with willingness, spirit, passion. That was in the previous weeks very good for this team and therefore, we won football games.
“I know footballers are not robots, sometimes they have bad, days. But it can’t be, it’s unacceptable, we have to do better tomorrow but in the weeks before we have done very well.”
United need to show an improvement if we are to progress in the FA Cup.
Elimination would lead to massive pressure on Ten Hag to keep his job, and we travel to Man City on Sunday for another crucial fixture.
Subscribe to the Stretty News podcast Strettycast for weekly episodes on Manchester United. You can also sign up to the ad-free Stretty Newsletter. Get the Stretty News verdict on all matters Manchester United.