Erik ten Hag insisted Rasmus Hojlund’s injury need not throw Manchester United’s season off course as the club’s failure to sign another striker in January once again came under the spotlight.
Hojlund will miss Saturday’s match against Fulham and the midweek FA Cup tie at Nottingham Forest, and is also expected to be out for next Sunday’s derby against Manchester City with a muscle injury that could see him sidelined for up to three weeks and potentially miss five games.
It is a significant blow given Hojlund’s electric form of late – the 21-year-old Dane has scored seven goals in his last six appearances for United – and leaves Ten Hag short of options in attack, with Anthony Martial out until April following surgery on his groin.
But Ten Hag said Hojlund was not solely responsible for United’s recent uptick in goals.
“(Hojlund) was lately very important,” he said. “But main man? I don’t see it that way. Because I think especially (Alejandro) Garnacho is playing very strong in the last games…
“‘Rashy’ (Marcus Rashford) is capable. (He has only scored five but) he can score. Lately, in our last games the frontline is an absolute threat, they score. Is it Rasmus Hojlund only? No, it’s Garnacho, it’s also Rashford, it’s also Scott McTominay. Bruno (Fernandes) can score a goal.
“What gives me the confidence, in autumn the frontline wasn’t scoring, they were not even a threat. In this moment they are in very good form and a threat continually. I am quite confident that even when Rasmus Hojlund is not there, it will go on.
“We can line up a frontline which is really strong. I don’t think there is a frontline where the opponent thinks, ‘pfft, that is easy’. No, they will fear our frontline I am sure.”
Ten Hag has previously opened up on his desire to sign a striker last month, something United were unable to do due to concerns regarding the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules.
But on Friday the manager was questioned about the decision to spend £60million on Mason Mount last summer despite the relative depth in midfield, rather than invest up front given that Martial has regularly struggled to stay fit for a full season.
“You are a football manager?” he replied.
“If it was that easy… I already said (about) the money. First of all, striker options are the most difficult. Especially on our level. We had two strikers.
“I get that for Martial, but he has done for us last season great things. He is also on high payment in this club. So when you bring another one in, you strike him out. So there are all arguments not to do it.
“Then there is Marcus Rashford, who can play very good from front position. So actually we had three strikers in our squad to fill in.”
Ten Hag said it was “naive” to suggest signing another striker would have been so straightforward.
“Strikers are not cheap, and when you have three strikers in your squad and you bring a number four in, that means the prospective for the others will get short,” he said.
“We thought we had options, but when it develops during the season, I wanted to bring in a striker in the winter, but it was not possible. And already we had our problems with FFP (Financial Fair Play) in the summer of course.”
Amorim wants Man Utd players to be inspired by club's history
Ruben Amorim wants his Manchester United players to be inspired by the club's history as he bids to bring a winning mentality back to Old Trafford.
Amorim, taking over at the Premier League club following the departure of Erik ten Hag, was speaking in his first interview with the club after a tour of their home venue.
The Portuguese tactician had visited Old Trafford earlier in the week and met a group of supporters, as well as the women's team's vice-captain, England star Ella Toone.
"When you come [to Old Trafford], it's so different. You see the trophies, you see the tragedy that we have as a club. The history," said Amorim.
The 39-year-old added the manner in which the club defied the odds to succeed under Matt Busby after the Munich air disaster in 1958 should be a particular source of inspiration.
"This kind of strength, I think it's important to put in our team. When the players come here, they should take the stadium tour all the time. I think this is very important to do," Amorim said.
"It's normal if you go a lot of years without winning, you start losing that feeling. So I think we need to put all the players doing the same thing, to regain that feeling.
"We haven't won the Premier League for a long time. But if you ask, United is the biggest club in England.
"So this is part of history, it is not now. So we have to address that, to show that and to try to win again."
Asked what his footballing philosophy is, the former midfielder said it all comes down to being a team.
"The team is the most important thing for me. And if you work as a team, then the talent individually is going to shine," he said.
"But if I have to explain the importance of everything, it is the character, the way we fight, the way we play, and we must have an identity.
New Man Utd boss Amorim says he must win to be afforded time
New Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has said he will need to win matches in order to earn time and create his own identity at the club.
The Portuguese tactician, who left Sporting CP to become Erik ten Hag’s successor at Old Trafford, was speaking during his first interview with the Premier League club.
"We know that we need time, but we have to win time. To win time is to win games. But the most important thing for me is identity. So since day one we will start with our identity," the 39-year-old said.
"Of course we are going to prepare the games, but we will focus a lot in our game model. How to play, how to press, these small things, small details.
"You cannot go 100% on every detail because it will be confusing for the players. So if I have to say one thing, my main goal, my first goal, is identity."
Amorim is the seventh different manager to take charge of the club since Alex Ferguson's retirement in 2013 and will face a trip to Ipswich Town in the league on 24 November on his United debut.
But the former Portugal international added that having a young squad will not be an excuse if he fails to get the desired results in the short term.
"I don't want to say that we need time because we are a young team. They are prepared. They are prepared to cope with the demands of playing for United. They should be because they are here," Amorim said.
"We know it will take time, but we have to start since day one without fear, without thinking that they are not used to playing like this. They will start on the first day with our idea, no matter what. That's the goal."
New Manchester United boss Amorim says he needs to win to be afforded time
New Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has said that he will need to win matches in order to win time and create his own identity at the club.
The Portuguese tactician, who left Sporting CP to become Erik ten Hag’s successor at Old Trafford, was speaking during his first interview with the Premier League club.
"We know that we need time, but we have to win time. To win time is to win games. But the most important thing for me is identity. So since day one we will start with our identity," the 39-year-old said.
"Of course we are going to prepare the games, but we will focus a lot in our game model. How to play, how to press, these small things, small details."
"You cannot go 100% on every detail because it will be confusing for the players. So if I have to say one thing, my main goal, my first goal, is identity," he said.
Amorim is the seventh different manager to take charge of the club since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement in 2013 and will face a trip to Ipswich Town in the league on 24 November on his United managerial debut.
But the former Portugal international also added that having a young squad will not be an excuse for not getting the desired results in the short term.
"I don't want to say that we need time because we are a young team. They are prepared. They are prepared to cope with the demands of playing for United. They should be because they are here," Amorim said.
"We know it will take time, but we have to start since day one without fear, without thinking that they are not used to playing like this. They will start on the first day with our idea, no matter what. That's the goal."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
