Erik ten Hag fearful of Twente reunion: 'It's not nice to hurt something you love'

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has admitted he's not looking forward to facing FC Twente in the UEFA Europa League and would've instead preferred to play 'someone else'.

The Red Devils will host the Eredivisie side on Wednesday night to kick off their European campaign, qualifying for the second-tier tournament after winning the FA Cup in May. Ten Hag, however, is not so excited for this first fixture after being drawn to face Twente.

The Dutchman grew up as a Twente fan and enjoyed three spells on the books as a player, starting and ending his career at De Grolsch Veste. He also spent time coaching the club's youth teams before moving into management.

"Twente is the team I follow the most," he told reporters ahead of the game. "I watch them as a fan, as a supporter, not as an analyst. It's a different way of watching their games.

"I would have preferred to play against somebody else. It's not nice to hurt something you love. Twente brought me a lot, I was put through their academy, so for me great deal of history is there."

Ten Hag also gave his assessment on the updated Europa League format, which will see 36 teams play eight different opponents in a league format, as opposed to the previous method of eight groups consisting of four teams each.

"There are too many games, too many competitions, it's clear," he continued. "The players are overloaded, this is not good for football. Maybe it's good for commercial. As a club alone we can't change this.

"It's about clubs and players and coaches. We have to work on this to improve the game and find the right balance. We are professional and revenues have to come, but we have to balance it out."

United will face Twente on Wednesday before returning to Premier League action at home to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

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