Manchester United return to Premier League action on Saturday, two weeks on from that dramatic comeback victory over Brentford.
An injury-time brace from Scott McTominay ensured it was a more enjoyable two-week international break for Erik ten Hag, albeit the speculation over Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s minority takeover hasn’t exactly lessened the spotlight on the club of late.
Ten Hag will hope to extend that winning run on Saturday when his side take on bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United. The Blades have taken just a single point this season and anything other than three points at Bramall Lane will quickly see United lurch back into a mini crisis.
For the Red Devils, four losses from eight league matches this season sees them sitting 10th in the table, although a few wins over the coming weeks could quickly change that picture.
Speaking in Friday's pre-match press conference, Ten Hag discussed a range of topics, including the latest developments around Ratcliffe's potential investment, and he backed under fire goalkeeper Andre Onana.
The United boss offered his support to Victor Lindelof following the tragic events in Brussles this week, when two Sweden fans were killed in a terrorist attack. Ten Hag sent his condolences to the victims and their families, and spoke about the impact on Lindelof, who was playing for Sweden when his side's match against Belgium had to be called off at half-time.
In addition, the Dutchman was quizzed on the prospect of facing the Blades this weekend, and Bruno Fernandes' influence when operating on the right wing this season.
Here are the main things the Dutchman told reporters at Carrington...
1. Told anything about Ineos takeover?
“No. So I’m not involved in this, others in the club are dealing with this, I am focusing on my team, focusing on the coming block and the most important priority is the next game. It’s all about that.”
2. Capitalising on Brentford win
“You can’t restart but what you see is there is a strong dressing room, they are aligned, on one page. They are so determined and willing to win games, that is what we have seen in the last couple of minutes. We invested a lot in that game and in the end, we beat them. They were physical and we were very strong, mentally, and we kept going. That gives a lot of spirit.”
3. Onana performances
“He knows, we know, he will do much better and as every player who’s coming into the Premier League, you need an integration period, but he has to step up. Also, big United keepers like Peter Schmeichel and David de Gea started not too good. I think for Andre that it is good to know a little bit from history, but we live now, we live in the future and he has to make his future by giving better performances. He will do it, I’m sure he will. He already showed that at big clubs like at Barcelona, Ajax, Inter Milan. He was in the semi-final and final of a Champions League. He is a great player and I’m sure he will give a great performance. I’m sure we will have a lot of joy with him.”
![“Every game in the Premier League is difficult. If you have seen their results against [Manchester] City and Spurs, they were very narrow wins from both. If you don’t play your best football, you can have a problem.”](https://www.thestar.co.uk/webimg/b25lY21zOmFhMDM0MmQxLTBiNDYtNDM4ZS1hZGFhLTcyY2U0YWYzZjM2MjpiMzkxNmFjYi02MTU3LTRhMTYtYTcxOS0zMDE3ZDFkODZiYzk=.jpg?crop=3:2&width=800)
4. Sheffield United threat
“Every game in the Premier League is difficult. If you have seen their results against [Manchester] City and Spurs, they were very narrow wins from both. If you don’t play your best football, you can have a problem.”