Manchester United not dreaming of Premier League title – Erik ten Hag after derby win

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag insists his players have their feet on the ground following Saturday's derby win over City

Posted Sunday, January 15, 2023 by fourfourtwo.com

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has insisted he is not thinking about the Premier League title following his side's derby win over Manchester City on Saturday.

United came from behind to beat City 2-1 at Old Trafford and are up to third in the Premier League following a remarkable run of results under the Dutch coach.

Ten Hag's side have won 16 out of their 19 games since the 6-3 defeat away to City in October and are just a point behind the champions in the table.

Asked if he was thinking about the title, Ten Hag said: "The fans may dream but we're not. We have to keep our feet on the ground and then face [up to the fact] that our game has a lot to improve."

United have won their past nine fixtures and are the only English club still alive in four competitions this season. Clearly, significant progress has been made under the former Ajax coach.

"We often talk about teams, developing, tactics progressing, but one of the main jobs for a manager, for a coaching staff is to work on the mentality of the team and this mentality has a lot of elements," Ten Hag said.

"One of them is resilience, the determination of this team is progressing a lot in those facts, dealing with setbacks, dealing with suffering in painful moments and keep going after setbacks like a goal against.

"I think we have also players on the pitch who are experienced and know that one moment games can change and I think we are much better able to deal with such situations than a couple of months ago."