Erik ten Hag explained why he did not make Manchester United stars relive the horror by showing them last season's 7-0 thrashing at Liverpool.
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Man Utd were beaten 7-0 at AnfieldFace another tricky trip to MerseysideTen Hag wants to write a new futureWHAT HAPPENED?
United are struggling for form and have lost half of their games this season. Their recent exit from the Champions League after finishing bottom of the group has put question marks over Ten Hag's future which could further intensify if the Red Devils are once again humiliated by Jurgen Klopp's men on Sunday.
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However, Ten Hag revealed that he is looking forward to scripting a new future and has hence avoided revisiting the painful memories of the past by choosing not to make his players rewatch the 7-0 defeat.
Speaking to reporters, he said: "I don't think it’s the right thing to do. It was last season, it was the past. What we can change is the future. Sunday is a new game. I haven't seen last season that we were scared there. It was a bad experience but it’s not similar – you start again.
“Last season, in the first-half, I think we played decently. But we got hammered just after half-time and then we collapsed. That can't happen."
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Despite the optimism, United is in a precarious position with up to 11 players out due to injuries, including key figures like Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, Anthony Martial, and Mason Mount. Nonetheless, Ten Hag insisted that his troops are ready to give their all at the iconic venue.
"We will go there and we will be confident, to go there and be confident from the start to the end. We have to fight there, we have to challenge there and we go there to win," he said.
“Everyone is highly motivated when you go to Anfield. It’s a great place to go. You know it's going to be tough and what every top footballer wants is to have that challenge, so you have to look forward to it. Last season, of course, we take that in our memory, but you have to also take the benefit from it and learn from it and on Sunday we can prove that.”
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The match is crucial for Ten Hag, who could find himself fighting for his job if United fails to deliver a respectable performance. Questions are being raised about his ability to handle the pressure and complexity of managing a club like United. But Ten Hag remains adamant that the pressure at Old Trafford is similar to that of Ajax.
“It's similar, it's not complex,” said Ten Hag. “At Ajax, you have to win, here you have to win, definitely. That is always the demand. You can never run away from those demands and I don't run away from that. That’s our obligation – to win every game. You have to be top of the bill at any moment.”