Manchester United boss Erik Ten Hag on Newcastle challenge and recent form
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00:00 Hi Eric, I hope you're okay.
00:02 Yeah, very good.
00:03 Could I ask you about Kobi Meyneuw?
00:05 He came on on Wednesday.
00:09 What, as a manager, what things have you got to take into consideration
00:15 before deciding whether to put an 18-year-old into the team?
00:20 If he's ready or not, he showed on Sunday that he was ready.
00:27 And then we have to manage three games in six days
00:33 to get the best results of all the games.
00:36 We have more than 11 players and we have good options there.
00:40 I think Soufiane also showed he was playing a very good game.
00:44 So we have to have the options and then you manage the load of the players
00:49 and it's about freshness as well.
00:51 What in particular do you like about him as a player?
00:57 He's obviously very young.
00:59 He's scanning and it looks like he has all this time.
01:09 And because he's scanning, he's running free,
01:13 then he's scanning to see the options and then make the right decisions.
01:19 He can delay, he can speed up, so he makes the right decisions.
01:25 I know you've talked a lot about Andre Anana,
01:31 but since the game on Wednesday, his form has been analysed,
01:35 it's been talked about.
01:37 Are we being too harsh on Andre Anana?
01:41 Pardon?
01:42 Are we analysing and talking about Andre Anana too much?
01:46 Are we analysing his game too much?
01:49 If you analyse it well, then you see he's the second best goalkeeper
01:58 in the Premier League based on stats.
02:01 So his expected preventing goals is the second best in the Premier League.
02:08 So, yeah, he's doing well.
02:10 But he knows that in the Champions League he makes some mistakes,
02:17 but all over, if you see the first five months, he's doing particularly well.
02:23 Is it difficult to gauge how well Manchester United are playing at the moment?
02:31 Because you look at the Premier League form and it's fantastic,
02:34 but then you have the Champions League frustrations.
02:36 Is it frustrating for you because you know how good this team can be?
02:40 So you said very good, how good we play.
02:45 And also on Wednesday, we played very good.
02:50 And also in Copenhagen, we played very good.
02:54 And even in Bayern Munich, we played very good.
02:57 But, yeah, we have to do some things better.
03:02 So eliminating individual errors and also things in defence transition,
03:09 but we can sort this out.
03:11 And I would be more concerned if we didn't play this that well.
03:17 Demi, you know Ananda as well as anybody.
03:22 How is his confidence after these quite high-profile mistakes that he's made?
03:27 You know also because you have seen how he is reacting on the bad performance
03:34 like he did after Munich.
03:36 He was in Burnley, he was outstanding.
03:38 So, yeah, he's a strong character, he's a personality, and he will deal with it.
03:43 We've had the update this morning about Molassier and coming back in the new year.
03:50 Are you expecting any other of the injured players to return before the Munich game?
03:56 I don't think about the Munich game.
04:00 First we go back into the Premier League.
04:04 But there are players on the way back, but I can't say now.
04:10 Fork knows how long it will take.
04:12 So there's no time frame on Mason Mount, for instance?
04:16 Mason Mount is today returning on the pitch,
04:19 but I don't know how long it takes when he will return.
04:23 I can't say at this moment.
04:25 Vicky?
04:26 Eric, in the last couple of games you've played against Newcastle,
04:30 you've said they were very physical.
04:32 Do you expect a similar game to that when you play against them at St James' Park?
04:38 I really respect them.
04:42 It's a difficult team to play, but also it's a good challenge.
04:46 So I like to play against them because it's a challenge.
04:50 We have to rise to the occasion.
04:52 We know that we have to be on our best.
04:54 Against them, because as I say, the way they play,
05:00 I think it's very well organised.
05:03 That concludes the first section of the press conference.
05:06 press conference the second section