Manchester United boss has warned his players not to get distracted by talk of winning a trophy in the Dutchman’s first season in charge.
Before consecutive league games against the league’s current top two, United’s attention first turns to the domestic cup competitions, as they host Everton in the FA Cup on Friday evening before welcoming League One side Charlton to Old Trafford for their Carabao Cup quarter-final on Tuesday.
With United also in the Europa League knockout stages, the club still has four potential routes to silverware this season – but Ten Hag has called for focus amid a hectic schedule.
When asked about the prospect of a trophy in his first season at United, he said: “I don’t think about that. In this stage of the season, it’s not where you are looking at.”
“You are looking at getting into a position where you can win something because there are so many games to play.”
“The season is taking a long time, especially with a lot of games ahead – don’t get distracted. When you think too far ahead, you get distracted. Focus on the game, progress, the team performance and the team development. It’s all about that. There are many elements in our game that we need to improve. Think about and concentrate on that, work to make it better.”
When asked if he expected to be in such a promising position so soon into his Old Trafford career, the Dutchman added: “I think we are in a good position. We are where we want to be.”
“Go from game to game, we play in many leagues so focus from game to game on the league and don’t think too far ahead.”
“We have to go from game to game and still think about and work on progressing and the process. It’s all about that as a team, and then the individuals. When the team is performing, the individuals get better.”
