Erik ten Hag has warned his Manchester United players to accept being benched and be determined to contribute.
The boss left Jadon Sancho out of last September’s trip to Arsenal, prompting him to publicly protest. Sancho was loaned to Borussia Dortmund, but Ten Hag has brought him back.
The 24-year-old missed the 1-0 opening day win over Fulham due to an ear infection, Ten Hag said afterward.
Sancho’s availability for Saturday’s early kickoff at Brighton was asked of Ten Hag on Thursday. “We will see,” remarked the Dutchman.
I hope we have a double-positioned squad when we start the season after 1 September, so you can’t select all the players for a game.
But you need them all season since this is the survival of the fittest. Players’ attitudes are crucial; they must accept disappointment. You win with a squad, not 11 players.
Everyone on the team must be motivated until May, when the awards are selected.
“That is a club and squad manager demand, not an expectation. The team is always more essential than an individual.”
Manuel Ugarte of Paris Saint-Germain is Ten Hag’s target before the summer window ends next Friday.
United desire to buy the defensive midfielder but think the French club’s £51m valuation is too high, so a loan is being considered. The manager declined this and other offers.
Ten Hag advised, “Be patient, sit, wait, keep working very hard.” “We will always try to make the best team. We have two days to improve, and we will search for opportunities to do so. Bringing news when we have it.”
United have signed Leny Yoro, Joshua Zirkzee, Noussair Mazraoui, and Matthijs de Ligt this summer. He answered, “Yes, I am very pleased with this.
We realize as a club we have to catch up, but these recruits reflect our ambition and direction. We did terrific business, got good players who will help our squad.”
