Erik ten Hag excited to compete in FA Cup for the first time

Erik ten Hag takes charge of his first FA Cup tie on Friday night when Everton come to Old Trafford.

Manchester United will be looking to progress in the competition by beating Everton before going all the way to lift the FA Cup for the first time since 2016.

Erik ten Hag has stressed that he will be taking the FA Cup seriously this season. You get the impression he is doing the same in the Carabao Cup to build a winning mentality in the squad.

“For me the cup is always special,” Ten Hag told reporters, as quoted by the Manchester Evening News. “I know in England, the FA Cup is even more higher expectations, higher standards than in the Netherlands, but I like the cup in the Netherlands as well, it’s a different league.

“In not so many games you can achieve a lot, and you have to come away a winner, this is possible if you draw a replay but then after two it’s a knockout and I like that.”

It has been six years since United won a trophy – not to mention 7 since we lifted the FA Cup – and it would be a magnificent achievement for Ten Hag to achieve that in his first season.

When asked about winning a trophy this season, Ten Hag said: “I don’t think about that. It’s in this stage of the season you are not looking at, we have together into a position you can win something and I know the season is taking long, especially with such a lot of games ahead. Then don’t get distracted when you think too far ahead, you get distracted, focus on the team progress, team development, it’s all about that. We have many elements in our game we have to improve.”

United beat Bournemouth 3-0 on Tuesday night and will be looking for their fifth consecutive win since the World Cup. Casemiro, Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford were all on the scoresheet as the Reds took three points to keep their place in the top four.

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