Erik ten Hag knows Everton’s players and fans will be “mad” about the 10-point penalty imposed on the club and has challenged Manchester United to meet fire with fire at Goodison Park on Sunday.
United travel to Everton to face a team fuelled by a sense of injustice after an independent commission imposed the sanction on the club a week ago for a breach of Premier League profitability and sustainability rules.
“I can see the opposition and I can see they are mad, but then finally it’s about us,” Ten Hag said. “If they are mad and that’s their fuel, we have to match those standards. When we match the standards we have a very good chance to win the game.”
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United head into the game in good Premier League form, having won four out of their past five matches. They are boosted by the return of Luke Shaw from a thigh muscle injury which has sidelined him since August. André Onana has overcome a knock sustained with Cameroon but a decision will be taken on Saturday about whether Rasmus Højlund can feature.
Asked about the importance of Shaw’s return, Ten Hag said: “You can mention many things: you can mention his physical and his technical ability, his leadership. It’s clear, a long time in the season we didn’t have a left full-back so yes, we’re very happy he’s back. That’s a good sign and he will help us [to be] more stable.”
There have been suggestions of a fallout between Ten Hag and Raphaël Varane, reportedly stemming back to the manager’s decision to pick Jonny Evans ahead of him for the Manchester derby last month for tactical reasons. Ten Hag denied there was any issue, saying: “I don’t know what you’re talking about [with] these rumours. He’s a very important player, but there’s internal competition and that [is how it] should be at a top club as we are. There is internal competition.
“When you have to decide on two players, who do brilliant – Rapha Varane and Harry Maguire – you have to make a choice for the position.”