Erik ten Hag is desperate for an upturn in fortunes over the next two games (Image: Getty)
was spotted in deep conversation with one player during their open training session on Wednesday. The Dutchman is putting the final tweaks in place at Carrington before he and his squad jet to Portugal for Thursday night’s clash with .
And nothing less than a win will do for the under-fire manager. A 3-0 defeat at home to last time out made it three matches without a victory and subjected the club’s fans to more humiliation.
Ten Hag is expected to remain in charge for the Porto game and Sunday’s trip to , but the board are hoping to see a dramatic improvement on performances so far this season, making this week a crucial one for the former Ajax boss.
As his players walked out onto the training pitch, for an in-depth conversation in which he appeared to be working on positioning. The Argentine was on the pitch for all three Spurs goals at Old Trafford as the visitors carved through United time and again.
Though Martinez has been one of Ten Hag’s more successful signings in his two-and-a-half years at the helm, the head coach needs all of his players to stand up and be counted in the next two games. And strengthening at the back is the best way to ensure United avoid defeat.
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Found it really interesting that Erik ten Hag made a point of speaking with Lisandro Martinez before training started this morning.Seemed he was tweaking some of the Argentine’s positioning from what I was able to observe in the open part of the session for media
— Nathan Salt (@NathSalt1)
Dismal defending was to blame for centre-back Micky van de Ven going on a 50-yard run and assisting Brennan Johnson for ‘s opener – and again when Sam Lammers equalised for Twente in United’s first Europa League match of the season last week.
That 1-1 draw at Old Trafford has made Wednesday’s trip to Porto even more important. But Ten Hag claims the threat of being made redundant is not weighing on his mind after being given a vote of confidence by and co during the summer.
“I’m not anxious,” he insisted. “We’re in here together. We made an agreement this summer, the ownership, the leadership, and we are all behind it.
“We know the strategy, with young players in a transition period and we know in this process this can happen. But in the end, in May, in all of my last six seasons there were trophies and this is what we are all aiming for.”
Lisandro Martinez was given an in-depth talking-to by Erik ten Hag on Wednesday (Image: Getty)