Erik ten Hag reiterated to Rasmus Hojlund he would break his Premier League goalscoring duck for Manchester United in a number of discussions.
Hojlund scored the winner in a 3-2 comeback against Aston Villa in his 15th league appearance for United as they ended a run of four games without victory.
The 20-year-old’s adroit volley marked Hojlund’s sixth goal for United since his £72million transfer from Atalanta and Ten Hag is optimistic the Dane will add to his domestic tally after claiming five goals in the Champions League group stage.
“Yes, of course, several talks with him,” Ten Hag said of his discussions with Hojlund about his domestic drought. “The time I pointed out you scored for Denmark a lot, you scored in the Champions League, so you demonstrated ability. You can do it, believe in it, it will come. I am sure now the first goal is in, more will come.
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“When strikers don’t score, that’s a problem but he has a strong character, he is so resilient, so determined, he has a big personality and that is what a striker needs. When you keep investing, the goals will come.”
United recovered from 2-0 down at the interval to record a 3-2 home win for the second time at Old Trafford this season, having trailed Nottingham Forest 2-0 after four minutes in their third match of the season.
Ten Hag made four changes to the team that lost 2-0 at West Ham United on Saturday and United now have ten wins from 19 league fixtures at the halfway point of the campaign.
“The first half we played solid,” Ten Hag added. “We were a little bit sloppy to give two goals away from set plays. In half-time, we slightly changed the pressing but it was a little, slight change.
“But we said keep going. In the first half, we created chances: twice Rasmus Hojlund, Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, Diogo Dalot. They were all very good created chances from open play.
“So we said, keep going, believe in ourselves and that is what I demand from the team and I said during half time, keep believing and we will win this game.”
Ineos sporting director Sir Dave Brailsford, who is due to join the United board once their deal has been completed, was present at Old Trafford and Sir Jim Ratcliffe is expected to be in attendance for a game in the new year.
Now United’s strategic review is over, Ten Hag is looking forward to working with Brailsford. “I don’t think it has had an impact on the players,” Ten Hag stressed.
“So for me, I was kept informed of the whole process first from (former chief executive) Richard Arnold and later (interim chief executive) Patrick Stewart, I knew what was going on.
“We look forward. I think it is positive for the club that they are in, they are stepping in, they have a lot of experience in sport at the highest level, they have one cycling team and football clubs, it can only help the supporters to get our targets so they are looking forward.
“They want to work with us and we want to work with them.”
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
