Premier League side Manchester United take on Turkish giants Fenerbahce in the UEFA Europa League clash on the 25th of October as they travel to the Ulker Stadium for their European encounter.
United will be up against former coach Jose Mourinho, who led the Red Devils to the Europa League silverware in the 2016-17 season, and United head coach Erik ten Hag opined that he cherishes the opportunity to go up against one of the best managers in the business with a proven track record of winning trophies.
“It’s a big game for both of us,” the Dutchman said.
“I really enjoy facing him and playing against him. He has always good teams, he is a winner — he has won so many trophies — I think he is an example for many, many managers,” said the United manager.
With United languishing in the bottom half of the PL table, United boss ten Hag is under a lot of pressure to turn the fortunes of the side around.
The Dutchman revealed that one has to prove himself day in and day out and that the side target a trophy from the season.
“It is football, you have to live for now,” he said. “(What happened) is in the past, you have to prove (yourself) every day, you have to prove yourself every season, so we have to go for it,” the 54-year-old said.
“We are in the start of the season and we will see where we end but our target is to win a trophy again,” he added.
United posted a 2-1 win over Brentford on Saturday to climb from 14th to 11th in the standings as strikes from Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund turned things around after Ethan Pinnock had given Thomas Frank’s side the lead.
Ten Hag went on to laud Hojlund, who had a start-stop season during his first year at Old Trafford due to injuries but looks to be back in the thick of things again.
“He will always score,” Ten Hag said about the striker.
“What is important is he is keeping fit. He picked up so many injuries in the first season and when he stays fit, he will score goals because that is proven in his stats,” he concluded.
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