For a tournament Erik ten Hag doesn’t really want to be in, the Europa League can offer the Manchester United manager everything he needs from his first season in charge.
If the Dutchman hadn’t swapped jobs in the summer, he would have spent Wednesday preparing Ajax for their Champions League opener against Rangers in Amsterdam rather than sat in a news conference at Carrington talking about Europe’s second-tier club competition. His main aim for his debut campaign at Old Trafford is to plot his way back into the Champions League, followed closely by ending the club’s five-year wait for silverware.
Reach, and then win, the Europa League final in Budapest in May — easier said than done with teams like Arsenal and Roma also in the draw — and Ten Hag will end his first season with his two major targets ticked off and his position well and truly secure. Man United insist that their appointment of the 52-year-old is a long-term one but no manager since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013 has survived after missing out on the Champions League following a full season in charge.
Initially, Ten Hag’s focus will be on finishing as high up the Premier League table as possible, but he will know that the prize at the end of the Europa League — a trophy and an automatic place in next season’s Champions League group stage as a top seed — is too good an opportunity to throw away. “We have to win every game, and we want to win every tournament, so we have to take everything seriously,” he said on Wednesday. “That is the mentality that Manchester United needs. Europe is always something special and you don’t know your opponents that well.”
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After a disastrous start to the season with defeats to Brighton and Brentford, United have built some momentum with four wins in a row. It’s been done with a settled team, too — Ten Hag has made just one change across the matches against Liverpool, Southampton, Leicester and Arsenal — but there’s likely to be plenty of rotation for Real Sociedad‘s visit to Old Trafford on Thursday.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw are all set to be recalled while Casemiro could be handed a first start following his £60 million from Real Madrid in the summer.
