Erik ten Hag reveals the Man Utd result this season which he 'totally ignores'
- Man Utd's manager is still annoyed about his side's 3-0 defeat to Tottenham in September
- Bruno Fernandes' red card in that fixture was successfully appealed
- Erik ten Hag also praised United's 'fighting spirit'
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has made the puzzling admission that he "totally ignores" his side's 3-0 defeat at home to Tottenham Hotspur at the end of September.
Spurs dominated United, taking an early lead after Micky van de Ven barrelled through half of the hosts' lineup before squaring the ball to Brennan Johnson. Bruno Fernandes was sent off on the cusp of half-time for a lunge on James Maddison before Spurs added two more goals after the interval.
VAR did not overrule the on-pitch referee but United's captain, who claimed that he slipped while making the tackle, had his suspension overturned by the Football Association on appeal.
Ten Hag has not moved on. "I deny that game, ignore that game against Spurs because we were downsized to ten with a 1-0 losing position," the Dutch coach told the assembled media on Thursday night, almost a month after the meeting at Old Trafford. "And then the red card was overturned. So I totally ignore that game.
"That is not a fair assessment of the team to take this into consideration because we didn't have the chance to bounce back."
There is some merit to Ten Hag's argument. The successful red card appeal suggests that Fernandes should not have been sent off, thereby unfairly hampering United for more than half of the loss to Spurs. However, Tottenham were comfortably on top even when United had 11 players on the pitch.
As Postecoglou outlined at the time: "Their red card is a consequence of our dominance, we put them under so much pressure, they couldn't really get out of their half."
Ten Hag was also keen to laud United's "fighting spirit" when afforded numerical equality. "But you see this team is resilient, this team is determined," the manager insisted after overseeing a 1-1 draw with Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce in the Europa League.
"Against Brentford, two tough away games now in Europe - Porto and today again [against Fenerbahce] - this team has character and this team showed fighting spirit and determination to win games."
The Red Devils will need all that mental fortitude when they travel to West Ham United's London Stadium on Sunday lunchtime. Manchester United have won just two of their last 17 Premier League trips to England's capital - both of which were against Fulham.
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