Manchester United's head coach Erik ten Hag attended a press conference ahead of the match

Manchester United will face Brentford at home in the 8th round of the Premier League. Ahead of the match, Manchester United's head coach Erik ten Hag attended a press conference.

Before the press conference begins, I would like to congratulate Andy (The Athletic’s reporter Andy Mitten) and Rob (ESPN’s reporter Rob Dawson) for reaching the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro together. This is a huge achievement, and they have also raised funds for the Manchester United Foundation. So, it’s a significant accomplishment, and we would like to extend our congratulations to you both and hope you enjoy this moment. As I’ve said before, I think it’s a great goal, and I hope it continues to raise more funds for this charity. (At this moment, the audience gave applause to the two journalists.)

What makes you believe you can still achieve success at Manchester United, Erik? What do you see that perhaps some of the critics are missing?

Of course, we also have to climb a mountain (the question was asked by Andy Mitten). This is top-level football. Sometimes, you have to face challenges, and there will be ups and downs, but I believe we will succeed, just like we did in the past two seasons. I think we are moving in the right direction. Beneath the surface, I see good things; on the surface, I see good patterns, and we have good data that confirm we’re heading in the right direction. But, of course, the table doesn’t lie, and we are where we are, which isn’t good enough.

Erik, just to follow up, obviously you see the positives, but during the international break, there’s often a lot of noise around your position. Do you feel any need for assurances about your role?

No. That noise comes only from the media, from you guys—some of you, not all, but some make up stories, create fairy tales, generate noise, and spread lies. Because I know, within this club, we are united. I said this before the international break, and I told some journalists this. Maybe they didn’t believe me because I saw the reports, but internally, everything is calm. Of course, we discuss our current position. We are not happy with where we are, and we talk about how we can change that, what needs to happen, and what strategy we need to implement. But overall, we are calm, composed, and sticking to the plan, and we are confident we will achieve success.

In trying to turn things around, injuries don’t help, and you had to deal with many injuries last season. How are Mazraoui, Mainoo, and Maguire doing?

It’s certainly not helpful—that’s for sure. You need players to perform on the pitch, so that’s something we need to change in this club. But currently, Kobbie (Mainoo) and Harry (Maguire) will be out for a few weeks. The good news is Mazraoui was ill before, but he’s back in training and will be available for tomorrow’s match.

Hi Erik, stepping away from Manchester United for a moment, we saw Thomas Tuchel become England’s new head coach. You faced him twice last season when he managed Bayern Munich. What do you think of the appointment?

I think it’s a fantastic choice. The FA has appointed a top-level coach. He has proven that he can build a top team and one that can win. And since 1966, England hasn’t won a major trophy, so I think this is a great chance to change that. England has world-class players, and by building them into a cohesive team, they have a real chance of winning a major tournament like the European Championship or the World Cup.

Erik, you’ve had some issues with the left-back position due to injuries and absences. Can you update us on the status of Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia? Will they be back soon?

They’re back, but we can’t rush them. We need to handle this carefully because we don’t want them to return only to be sidelined again quickly. So, we’ll be cautious. But, of course, we hope they can return as soon as possible because the team needs a left-back, that’s for sure.

You signed Christian Eriksen from Brentford, and he has once again become an essential player this season. At one point, it seemed like his career might be on the decline. What has been the key to him becoming so crucial again?

He had some injuries in the first year, but even then, he was already very important. And last season, along with Kobbie, he’s proven himself again in the team. Together with Kobbie, it could be a great partnership. Unfortunately, they will be separated in the coming weeks, but it’s clear he has performed well this season. His key passes, link-up play, creativity, calmness, and composure have been vital to the team, and I’m very happy with his performance this season.

Erik, how much do you need to manage the pressure on the players? You’re currently 14th in the table, and every game feels like a disaster if it’s lost because of the club’s situation. But at the same time, Benny McCarthy (previously Ten Hag’s assistant) said last season that many players performed well in training but couldn’t replicate it on match day, perhaps due to pressure. How do you manage that?

I think the players have performed well. We won a trophy last season (laughs). Maybe you’ve forgotten. Of course, we’ve had issues at times, and we’ve had to field some imbalanced lineups because of player availability. But overall, I think the players have done well. What we’re seeing now is that we need to start scoring. That’s the most important part of football, and if you want to win matches, you have to score goals. In that area, we need improvement. We’re getting into the final third, we’re getting into the box, and we’re in good positions to score. Now, we need to take that final step, which is the most important one—putting the ball in the net.