Erik ten Hag urges Man Utd to take out their anger on Porto after Tottenham loss

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is hopeful his team can go back to winning ways when they meet Porto in the Europa League and has asked them to take out their frustration on their opponents.

Erik ten Hag stated that he and his Manchester United players are “mad” about their present situation and has urged them to take it out on Porto.

Ten Hag’s career is on the line following United’s joint-worst start to a Premier League season, with three defeats in six games, putting them in 13th place. United were pounded 3-0 at home by Tottenham last Sunday and have had a dismal start to their Europa League campaign, drawing 1-1 with FC Twente at Old Trafford, so they need a result today.

Because of the fog in Porto, Ten Hag and his team arrived more than two hours later than planned, with the United manager stating they are prepared to take their frustration out on their Portuguese opponents.

“As always, when we’re not winning, we’re very disappointed and we’re also mad,” Ten Hag explained. “We’re upset with ourselves, especially after losing a game like we did on Sunday.

“Also, having to play for such a long period with 10 players and then having the red card overturned is frustrating, because playing for such a long time with 10 men is never advantageous or has a big influence on the game, but you have to live with it.

“So we’re mad and from the madness we have to get motivation to go into the next game.” Mason Mount, Leny Yoro, Luke Shaw, and Tyrell Malacia all miss tonight’s match for United.

However, Ten Hag expressed hope that Shaw, who hasn’t played for United since February, will return after the international break. “On the left-backs, they are improving, and we hope Luke Shaw can return after the international break quickly,” Ten Hag remarked.

“I’m not sure whether that’s the first game; we’re hoping for it, but I can’t say anything with absolute certainty right now. But, from now on, we have two and a half weeks to get to that stage. He will arrive shortly after that. Tyrell is making significant progress on the field but needs to get to full team training.”

When asked why United are still in transition despite him starting his third season in charge, Ten Hag said: “The first season when I came in, we had to replace six or seven older players, like Juan Mata, Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba, and Jesse Lingard, so we started a process, but we also had to replace some other players this summer.

“We replaced them with other young players, including Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yoro. They need time to adjust to the Premier League and the standards of a club like United. We must fit them into our game model as well as the criteria of the league in which they compete.