Manchester United coach Eric ten Hag has warned that Nottingham Forest’s City Ground will be hostile territory as his team prepares for the first leg of the League Cup semi-final.
Ten Hag spoke to reporters today and warned that his players should be on top and not be afraid of the atmosphere.
United have not played at Forest since February 1999, when they won the Premier League with a score of 8:1. Ole Gunnar Sulscher, as you know, came off the bench and scored four goals.
Ten Hag said: “Well, United played there a long time ago. We like it, playing in front of a fanatical audience, it’s nice to play. It’s going to be a good atmosphere, I think it motivates their players, and we have to prepare for that.”
The United boss was not shy about his team’s chances of winning the League Cup and ending the club’s trophy drought.
He insisted that United return to victory and fight for the highest awards.
“It’s about that, it’s about winning trophies. We have a good opportunity, but we have to go from game to game. So now we are playing “Forest”, two stages, so focus on the first stage and don’t think further because it will be distracting. So the goal for tomorrow is to win this game.”
“It was the best feeling you can have after winning a trophy,” he said.
“I’ve been lucky enough to win a few trophies in my career and it’s been great, especially for the fans. It’s so cool.”
The Dutchman added that winning trophies is not a new goal at Old Trafford, and fans, especially the elderly, know what it means to be successful.
In conclusion, he urged his players to unite so that they would not miss the opportunity to raise the Carabao Cup.
However, Steve Cooper’s wards will also take the chance to cause a strong disappointment and guarantee themselves a place in the finals.
Whichever team wins the sum of the two matches between United and Forest, it will meet the winner of the two—legged match Newcastle - Southampton.
