Manchester United take on Barnsley this evening in the League Cup, the first trophy that Erik ten Hag won as the club’s manager. Speaking to the press ahead of the game, Ten Hag insisted that he will be taking this tie against League 1 opposition seriously.
It’s about winning trophies. I don’t talk only about this – you guys are talking about you have to win, to win leagues. We are in five leagues and we want to win them. So, no doubt, we are aiming for trophies. This is one opportunity and we take it seriously.
Unlike last season, United have more or less a fully fit squad, meaning a selection headache that Ten Hag is more than happy to deal with.
I hope I have headaches, because, last year, I also had headaches but there were no players available! So I hope I have many players available and we can make a selection from game to game. Definitely, we have to rotate because we have to cover so many games and so it’s not only about a starting XI. That is a nice headache.
Ten Hag confirmed that Mason Mount, Rasmus Hojlund and Victor Lindelof are definitely unavailable, as is Luke Shaw, although he is making progress.
Luke Shaw, he’s progressing, but not yet ready to be selected. He’s progressing well. Of course, we have a plan in our head when he can be ready, but you are always dependent on how the progress will go and you can’t think, you can’t make a suggestion because there are so many factors why a plan can accelerate or slow down.
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