Erik ten Hag is talking an excellent game, even when his Manchester United team perhaps let their standards slip.
It is a manager's duly to keep the confidence high, so when Ten Hag said United's defending was "unacceptable" after Sunday's 3-2 loss to Arsenal, he sought to qualify those comments the next time he spoke in public.
Ten Hag returned to the theme in a press conference before United's midweek EFL Cup semi-final win at Nottingham Forest, and this time his message was overwhelmingly positive.
"In general, Arsenal we defended very well," Ten Hag said. "I don't think they had clean shots. There was only one time, it was from a free-kick.
"For the rest it was only shots, cutbacks, shots from distance where a lot of defenders from us were in between the ball and the goal and that's what I meant after, all the goals were avoidable."
This is all about the power of positive thinking, with the Dutchman finding a way to infuse critical feedback with praise, but Opta's Arsenal game data firmly debunks the idea the Gunners rarely got close to the United goal.
Across the Premier League season to date, only once has a team had more shots inside the penalty area than the 20 that Arsenal had against United.
Manchester City, with 21 shots inside the area in a 3-1 victory at Leeds United in December, topped that, but for Ten Hag to suggest Arsenal rarely got close to the United goal is on the face of it misleading.
United's expected goals against (xGA) tally of 3.25 against Arsenal was the seventh-highest incurred by a Premier League team this season.
United also have number six on that list – with a 3.3 xGA total in the 6-3 thrashing by Manchester City in October.
These are the games where they have leaked chances in bulk, and good chances to boot.
It is worth saying such games stand out as being atypical of United this season.
Overall, United have done well in limiting chances in the Premier League, with their next two highest xGA totals being the 1.61 and 1.5 they conceded to Brentford and Brighton and Hove Albion in their opening two games of the campaign.
Last season, United conceded xGA of above 2.00 in 12 Premier League games, so there are clear signs of major improvement.
The Brentford and Brighton games both resulted in defeats, but United have been a team transformed since August. In 10 of their 20 Premier League games this term, they have conceded under 1.00 xGA, majorly limiting the opposition's opportunities.
They went under that 1.00 mark for five consecutive league games before the Arsenal defeat.
Perhaps Ten Hag is working on the principle that if you say something firmly and assuredly enough, it will become a reality.
Against Forest in the EFL Cup on Wednesday, United were far more like their usual selves.
Forest had nine goal attempts from inside the United penalty area, but the xGA was a mere 0.65.
United's win at the City Ground has put them on the brink of the final, ahead of the Old Trafford second leg, with Ten Hag looking to guide the Red Devils to a first major trophy since the 2016-17 EFL Cup and Europa League triumphs under Jose Mourinho.
Among United's rivals for Champions League places, Manchester City and Newcastle United have built around defensive sturdiness this season.
There have been eight occasions when teams have faced three or fewer shots (including blocks) in Premier League games this season, and Newcastle have had three of those and City four. Brighton had the other, against Forest in October.
There have also been 11 occasions when a team have not faced a single shot on target, which can be put down to a mix of good defending and poor finishing.
Newcastle have had the most such games, with four of their opponents not managing to hit the target.
The fewest shots on target Manchester United have faced, curiously, is the one that Manchester City managed in January's derby. United also faced just five shots in total in that game - their fewest this term, again, and a sign Ten Hag is turning his team into a well-drilled unit, even if there continues to be the odd aberration.
Northern Ireland’s young squad have everything to play for – Michael O’Neill
Michael O’Neill believes Northern Ireland still have everything to play for in their bid to reach Euro 2024 even as injuries hit hard during the qualifying campaign.
With a trip to Denmark and a home match against Kazakhstan up next, O’Neill has named a 28-man squad that includes five uncapped players and a total of 15 with fewer than 10 caps.
Although Jonny Evans returns from the hamstring injury that prevented him from adding to his 100 caps in March, Steven Davis, Stuart Dallas, Corry Evans, Liam Boyce, Josh Magennis, Conor Washington and Shane Ferguson remain sidelined, forcing O’Neill to rely on youth.
When O’Neill returned to the Northern Ireland job in December there was an opportunity to capitalise on a favourable qualifying draw, and although that remains possible, the absence of his most experienced players is making it a much tougher ask.
Northern Ireland began with a 2-0 win in San Marino in their group opener, but a 1-0 home defeat to Finland highlighted the difficulties.
Asked if the job had been harder than envisaged, O’Neill said: “I suppose it depends on what the expectation is for this campaign going forward as well. I still think we have got everything to play for in this campaign.
“The next two games are going to be very important and then obviously we have a double-header away in September (against Slovenia and Kazakhstan) which will be difficult, so we are going to ask a lot of a number of young players in this group.
“The senior players that we have with us, we really can’t afford to lose any more. I think we have eight players out who could all equally play for us, who have all been established players with a high number of caps.
“That is the situation that unfortunately we just have to deal with.”
It has meant O’Neill has been juggling the need for results with the need to nurture young players, with Conor Bradley and Shea Charles in particular asked to take on significant roles.
“It is a different approach from taking a team and saying ‘Right, how do we qualify? What is our route to qualification? How do we get enough points?’” O’Neill added.
“Of course, that is always in the background but I think it is more about the integration of the younger players and they will have to learn very quickly on the job if we are going to take that next step.”
O’Neill has hosted a series of training camps with senior players and under-21s in recent weeks, aiming to keep fitness levels high after the end of domestic campaigns while running the rule over younger faces.
Nottingham Forest defender Aaron Donnelly, West Ham teenager Callum Marshall and Larne forward Lee Bonis have all used the opportunity to earn their first senior call-ups.
While the return of Evans is a major boost, the Leicester defender will come into camp dealing with the disappointment of relegation and facing uncertainty over his future.
“He is very disappointed for them to go down and he is in a situation where he is out of contract as well,” O’Neill said. “I am sure if he was playing his football elsewhere next season he would have liked to have left Leicester in a slightly different way but he was just unfortunate this season.
“Probably, I think by his own admission, he pushed very hard to get back because I think he does make a difference to Leicester’s team. I think you saw that in the final three games that he was fit to play in. But I know he is keen to be a part of this squad and play.
“It is big for us to have him back, obviously we missed him in March and I believe that Jonny still has a lot of football left in him, both with Northern Ireland and wherever he chooses to play his football next season.”
West Ham fans line streets to toast Europa Conference League champions
West Ham enjoyed a heroes’ welcome as fans lined the streets of east London to celebrate their Europa Conference League glory.
The Hammers won their first major trophy since the 1980 FA Cup, and a first European title since 1965, when they beat Italian side Fiorentina 2-1 in Prague on Wednesday night.
And their jubilant supporters, decked out in the famous claret and blue on a warm and sunny evening in the capital, packed the pavements as the Hammers paraded the silverware on an open-top bus.
The squad’s journey started at the site of their former home at Upton Park and finished at Stratford Town Hall, where they enjoyed a reception.
Only West Ham fans of a certain age will ever have seen their side celebrate success like this, with a similar parade being held after that 1965 European Cup Winners’ Cup victory, where the likes of Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters got the taste of winning trophies.
But the younger generation made the most of it, climbing on lamp posts and bus stops to get the best vantage point of their heroes while also letting off flares.
David Moyes may have joined Ron Greenwood and John Lyall in earning immortality as managers to win a major trophy with the Hammers but he initially endured a lessened role on the bus, taking pictures of his players as they posed together.
But he was soon joining in with the celebrations, dancing and jigging with the trophy on his head.
View this post on InstagramLifting the trophy appears to be a fitting way for captain Declan Rice to bow out, with chairman David Sullivan confirming the England international will be allowed to leave the club this summer, with a bidding war expected to commence soon.
Rice was emotional on top of the bus, admitting it does not feel “real”.
“This is absolutely incredible, when you’re a kid and you love football as much as I do, and the lads do, you see teams having trophy parades,” he said. “I was once a kid watching teams do trophy parades and now to be doing one and captaining the side is just so, so special, I can’t even put into words.
“We knew it would be exciting and the fans would come out, I am just trying to take it all in, we don’t get to experience this ever. These moments don’t come around very often.
“I’ve seen top captains over the years lift trophies and it was my time at West Ham to lift the trophy. It doesn’t really feel real.
“At 24, captain of West Ham lifting a trophy in a European competition, I don’t think it is going to hit me for a while, but I am going to enjoy it and be as happy for as long as possible.
“Bobby Moore, Billy Bonds, I am seeing messages that I am now in that category, I don’t really know what to say. Bizarre.”
Moyes spent much of the season under pressure following a disappointing Premier League campaign, but Rice believes he is now the club’s best-ever manager.
The England midfielder added on Sky Sports News: “I think he goes down as the best manager West Ham have ever had. The circumstances, when he first came in, kept us twice, European competition, we finished fifth, sixth, a semi-final (Europa League) and now we’ve won this, he deserves all the credit he gets.
“He’s a top man and as you can see he is buzzing.”
Jarrod Bowen was West Ham’s hero in the final as he scored a 90th-minute winner, capping off a remarkable turnaround in his career having been playing at non-league Hereford nine years ago after being rejected as a youngster by Aston Villa.
“I love the game and these moments make it all worth it, the rejections and not going the way you want it,” he said.
“You fast forward 10 years and you are on an open-top bus parade for winning a European trophy so from where I have come, my mum was crying on the phone, my dad was there.
“It is a bit surreal to say I have won a European trophy from where I have come from. I love it.”
Jonny Evans back in Northern Ireland squad for Euro 2024 qualifiers
Jonny Evans is back in the Northern Ireland squad for next week’s Euro 2024 qualifiers but Michael O’Neill will once again be relying on youth with a long list of senior players still injured.
Evans – out of contract at relegated Leicester this summer – was unable to add to his 100 caps in March when he was forced to pull out of O’Neill’s first games back in charge of the national team due to a hamstring injury, but is in a 28-man squad to play Denmark away and Kazakhstan at home.
But with Steven Davis, Stuart Dallas, Corry Evans, Liam Boyce, Josh Magennis, Conor Washington and Shane Ferguson all still sidelined, O’Neill has included five uncapped players, with 15 of the 28 having fewer than 10 caps.
Nottingham Forest defender Aaron Donnelly, West Ham teenager Callum Marshall and Larne forward Lee Bonis have all received their first call-ups, with the uncapped Sean Goss and Eoin Toal again included after not featuring in March’s fixtures.
Blackpool striker Shayne Lavery returns after a hamstring injury kept him out of the last squad, although there will be a question over his fitness levels as he has managed only one appearance, as a substitute away to Norwich on the final day, since being sidelined in February.
There is also a return for Ethan Galbraith, who earned the last of his two international caps back in 2020.
The 22-year-old is a free agent this summer after leaving Manchester United, having spent last season on loan at Salford.
O’Neill has been working with several players from both the senior ranks and the under-21s at a series of training camps in recent weeks, aiming to keep his players sharp following the end of their domestic campaigns.
Northern Ireland travel to Copenhagen to face Denmark on Friday June 16 before taking on Kazakhstan at Windsor Park the following Monday.
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