Nottingham Forest was the first of eight games in 26 days in February for Man United, but Erik ten Hag welcomes the hectic schedule.
February is United’s most testing month of the season so far
Erik ten Hag is relishing Manchester United’s taxing schedule this month and believes it could benefit the team.
The League Cup semi-final second leg win over Nottingham Forest on Wednesday was the first of eight games in 26 days for United, whose month concludes with the League Cup final against Newcastle at Wembley.
Before that, United face an intense double-header against Leeds United in the Premier League and resume their Europa League campaign with a two-legged play-off against La Liga leaders Barcelona. United also host Crystal Palace and Leicester in the league this month.
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United are certain to play at least 55 games this season and could have as many as 65 if they manage to progress to the Europa League and FA Cup finals. That would surpass the 63 games United played during the Treble-winning season of 1998-99, when Sir Alex Ferguson welcome the endurance test of two games per week.
Ten Hag was asked if he shared the same opinion. “Yeah, I think so, and that is the right approach not to get distracted by anything and keep the momentum going.
“We have that in our hands and we can influence that, our team performance and individual performance and that is our demand.
“We have to see [how the squad depth is]. We construct a squad and also invested in the summer. From that point on it’s about developing a team and that has to come on the training ground and come in the matches that you develop your team.
“That’s the advantage of so many matches; that every time you can work on it and don’t have to wait so long. If you have to cover many matches, you also have the chance to improve your matches and your game quite quickly and I think that’s what we see in this moment.
“Of course, we need players to cover that because there is a limit on every player but I think we have a depth in our squad. Maybe not that far as other teams but that also has something to do with your approach to it and how you do your load management. If you do that right, I think we can go far.
Ferguson prepares for the Champions League semi-final first leg against Juventus in April 1999
“I don’t prefer a huge squad but also that gives problems. In the front line until now we had some problems with quantity. Not in the quality but with the availability of the players. You definitely need numbers there if you want to cover all the games and you want to be successful.”
Ten Hag has restored harmony to the United dressing room and asserted his authority with a number of high-profile decisions. He is adamant United will not be distracted by any further “issues” that may arise over the coming months.
“It’s really important but sometimes you get issues then as a club and team you have to deal with it,” Ten Hag added. “We have standards and values we have to live along those high standards and values and that gives a base if you have a good culture and spirit.
“That’s our job, not to get distracted by anything. We are human beings and sometimes there are issues, we are not like robots, but we have to focus on our job. We have so many games to cover so we don’t have time to get distracted by anything. It’s not always easy but that is our job.”
SOURCE: manchestereveningnews.co.uk
