Erik ten Hag believes Casemiro’s Player of the Month win is testament to the togetherness of Manchester United’s squad, while he admits Bruno Fernandes will be a big miss against Aston Villa.
The Red Devils continued their strong form with a 1-0 win over Real Sociedad in the Europa League on Thursday night, though it was not by a big enough scoreline to snatch top spot and avoid a play-off tie against a Champions League drop-out.
Next up, United travel to Birmingham to take on Aston Villa having opted to stay an extra night in San Sebastian, with Ten Hag holding Friday’s training session in Spain.
During United’s current nine-game unbeaten run, Casemiro has featured prominently and was voted the club’s Player of the Month for October while fellow summer signing Lisandro Martinez finished in second place.
Ten Hag feels the new additions have their team-mates to thank and have benefited from such a welcoming dressing room, with the Dutchman keep to continue moulding and harnessing that team spirit.
Asked how pleased he is to see both Casemiro and Martinez being recognised so early in their United careers, Ten Hag told the club’s website: ‘I think the signings thank the squad.
‘The right players with the right players who were already there and, together, they are forming a team and the team spirit is good, it’s high.
‘So also to keep that going, keep constructing that, keep building that, and bring even more passion and desire in because we want to win something.’
After picking up five yellow cards already this season, Bruno Fernandes will miss Sunday’s trip to Aston Villa and Ten Hag knows the Portuguese midfielder will be a big loss – but has backed his squad to step up.
He continued: ‘Until now, Bruno is so important for us. In every match, he plays really good.
‘I think also [against Real Sociedad], he was playing from the right, he made an impact there as well. You see, for instance, with the goal and also some other actions.
‘As a no.10, he’s playing really good games and we have to replace him, that’s the squad. Therefore, you need a squad, it’s not about 11 players, you need a squad to win in a season and now we have to replace him and we will do.’
Asked about the availability of Jadon Sancho, Antony and Anthony Martial, he added: ‘We will see [on Saturday]. They work at Carrington and then we will see how they recover and then we will pick a team.’
MORE : Erik ten Hag responds to suggestion Manchester United should give up on Donny van de Beek
MORE : Manchester United legend Paul Scholes reacts to Bruno Fernandes’ comments on Alejandro Garnacho’s attitude
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