Man United-FC Twente: Erik ten Hag regrets having harmed his former club

MANCHESTER, England – Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag said he would have preferred not to play against his former club, FC Twente, in the Europa League because “it’s not nice to have to hurt something you love.”

Ten Hag began his playing career at FC Twente and returned as a coach before becoming manager of the first team.

The Dutch team visit Old Trafford on Wednesday for the Europa League and ten Hag admitted he would prefer to face another team.

“FC Twente has given me a lot,” Ten Hag said at a press conference on Tuesday. “I went through their academy and was part of the generation of the first youth team when the youth competition was relaunched after many years. So for me there is a lot of history behind it.”

“I would have preferred to play against someone else. It’s not nice to have to hurt something you love.”

Ten Hag has hinted that he may rotate his squad for the game due to a “player overload” in the new, expanded European format.

The 54-year-old was criticised after leaving Marcus Rashford off the pitch in Saturday’s 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace, but the United boss insists he will continue to make changes to avoid burnout.

“I don’t understand the criticism,” he said. “There are too many games, too many competitions, that’s clear. The players are overworked, that’s not good for football. Maybe it’s good for advertising.”

“We need a squad of more than eleven players. Form plays a role, tactics play a role, but definitely management and workload play a role too.”

Rashford is likely to start against FC Twente after coming on as a second-half substitute at Selhurst Park.

United have struggled to score goals this season, managing just five goals in five Premier League games.

It was a similar story last season when they finished the season in the top half of the table, along with Palace, as the team with the fewest goals.

“We create a lot of chances in the first games of the season,” said Ten Hag. “Last week we scored seven goals against Barnsley. We are capable of scoring a lot of goals, but that is part of the game and we need to improve and score in the box.”