Erik ten Hag said he won’t accept Manchester United‘s long injury list as an excuse for their form tailing off this season.
Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane are the latest players set for a spell on the sidelines after picking up injuries in the 2-2 draw with Sevilla on Thursday.
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It is likely to mean Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof will have to start at centre-back against Nottingham Forest on Sunday but Ten Hag said he will not accept any excuses for a poor performance at the City Ground.
“If you want to find excuses, you have to look for another club,” Ten Hag told a news conference on Friday. “When the moment is there you have to contribute and that is what we demand.
“We have more than 11 starters, so now others are on and when their time is there you have to show and contribute to the team, you have to be ready. That is what we expect and what we demand.”
Meanwhile, Ten Hag also repeated his defence of his substitutions against Sevilla by insisting that Bruno Fernandes and Antony had to be replaced with United 2-0 up because both were in danger of picking up second yellow cards.
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“Bruno was throwing a ball away, so the next [time] he is off,” Ten Hag added. “He [the referee] saved him because Sevilla did the same in the first half and the player from Sevilla got booked for it.
“Antony, finally, he saw it out but don’t come in such circumstances, everything is going our way, 2-0 up, we’re playing a good game, so don’t go into individual battles with your opponents.
“It’s not necessary, you’re heating up the opponent and the risk of getting sent off. I don’t want to take the risk.
“We call it where I’m coming from, ‘you’re looking a cow in the a–.’ That’s what we call it in my region from the Netherlands, that is easy. But when he gets sent off you tell me, ‘why don’t you get him off? Why don’t you go for the risk?'”
