EPL 2022-23: 'Want to be involved in these games' - Ten Hag ahead of Manchester Derby
The 2022-23 EPL Manchester Derby will be played on Sunday between Manchester City and Manchester United. It would be Erik ten Hag's first such derby, and he is excited about it.
FollowIt will be an engaging Sunday, as the high-voltage Manchester Derby between defending champion Manchester City and giants Manchester United will be played at the Etihad Stadium. It would be the first derby of such magnitude for visiting head coach Erik ten Hag. Moreover, he would aim to script history by becoming the first manager since Sir Alex Ferguson in 1987 to win his maiden Derby on debut, as all of the latter's successors have failed to do so. Nevertheless, the Dutchman is not panicking ahead of the Derby and will relish the challenge.
Uttering to the reporters on Friday, ten Hag said, "I played many derbies. I know what they are, what rivals are doing to each other. I know it's the most important game for the fans in the Manchester area. It excites me. I want to be involved in these games. It's a good fight that gives so much energy. You do everything to win that game."
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"The approach is for us to look to ourselves. The approach at Man United is we want to win every game, and that message I've already told several times here. For Sunday, it's nothing else. We have to perform our best; with our way of playing, our rules, our principles, we have to do our best," added ten Hag, reports FotMob.
"We have made a good game plan. Then, it's about execution. We have to do it. We want to get the result, and we know if we want to get the result, we have to do it 100% well. We are confident of our capabilities, and if we act as a team, in and out of possession, we can beat our opponents. That is the belief we have to take when we start the game," ten Hag further noted.
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United would be wary of City's Norwegian striker Erling Haaland, who has scored a home hat-trick in his last two EPL matches, as he would be looking to become the first to do the same thrice. However, ten Hag is not bothered by him, as he concludes by saying, "We don't play against Haaland; we play against Man City. They have a team of more than 11 players, but we also have."
