At 21:00 GMT on October 6, Manchester United will challenge Aston Villa away from home in the 7th round of the English Premier League. After the previous press conference of the 3-3 draw away to Porto in the UEFA Cup, United manager Jens Ten Hagar introduced the preparation for this match.
On the injury front, Ten Hag said that Maguire and Gancho, despite previous problems, have been able to make the roster against Porto and could play some minutes. However, the situation is less promising for Menu, who failed to make the roster due to too many risks and the team will have to wait to see if he will be able to play on Sunday.
Speaking about the team's unity and integration, Ten Hag emphasized that everyone in the team is united, including the club owners, the leadership team, the coaching staff and the new employees. He mentioned the new young signing Ugarte, and while the number 6 position was one of the positions the team wanted to sign for this season, it will take time for Ugarte to integrate into the team and the intensity of the Premier League. In the meantime, he expressed his satisfaction with the return of Rasmus Hoylén and hoped that he would stay fit and help the team.
On the issue of discipline, Ten Hag said that Bruno Fernandes was very unlucky with his red card at Porto, but he wouldn't see it as a matter of indiscipline. He thought the team was very disciplined in their stand in the first 25 minutes and created chances. However, he also recognizes that the team needs to improve and will have to improve in terms of discipline if they want to be successful.
In terms of mentality and focus, Ten Hagar believes that the team has conviction, will not give up and has a strong mentality. But he also noted that there are other areas where the team must step up in order to win trophies and be successful.
Lastly, talking about the staffing issues at left back, Ten Hag said that while both Mazrahi and Dalot can play at left back, Dalot is preferred at the moment. He admitted that the team has been having manpower issues at left back and is looking forward to the return of Luke Shaw and Malacia, which will help stabilize the team's performance level.
