Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag was in good form during his pre-match press conference on Wednesday afternoon.
In a relatively packed media room at Carrington, Ten Hag answered questions from journalists for around 15 minutes ahead of Thursday's visit of Sevilla in the Europa League and he was joined by David de Gea, who was also good value.
After discussing the team news, the Dutchman was asked about Anthony Martial by one reporter, who asked: "You've always defended Martial, isn't this time for him to step up because we haven't seen the best of him in a long time?"
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Ten Hag was combative with his answer and he launched a passionate defence. He responded: "You say I defended him but I just point to the stats, the stats tell you the moment he's on the pitch, the time he needs for a goal is really less.
"When he is in the team, I refer to games against Man City and Liverpool, we play our best football. We have the best results as a team. I see how he contributes to this team. We don't have to force things [his comeback], we're careful.
"The frontline against Brentford and Everton worked really well. Continually we were a threat. We were difficult to defend for the opponent. He is ready to start games but as I said the frontline against Brentford did really well.
"We decided to continue that against Everton. The advantage was also that we can bring Martial back slowly, in the team, give him minutes, getting used to games at the highest level, but already against Everton he was ready to start the game."
Martial has made a total of 17 appearances this season and he's scored seven goals. He's averaged 0.79 goals per 90 minutes across all competitions and it says a lot that his minutes-to-goal ratio is, perhaps surprisingly, the best in the whole squad.
Of course, it reflects well on Martial that he has seven goals this season, despite spending more time on the treatment table than on the pitch, but it also shows his teammates, with the exception of Marcus Rashford, have not delivered.
Martial is the joint-third top goalscorer this season - only Rashford and Bruno Fernandes have more - and he's only made nine starts. He last started against Manchester City on January 14 and Ten Hag has been unable to rely on his fitness.
Unfortunately, that has been the story of Martial's career. The teenager that exploded into the Premier League with an unforgettable debut against Liverpool in 2015 is a distant memory and he's become synonymous with injury instead.
Martial has been sidelined for the bulk of the campaign through hamstring, Achilles and back injuries and he's made just six league starts, but he's taken part in full training for over four weeks and it's time for him to repay the manager's patience.
Rashford, who has been responsible for around 35 per cent of the team's goals this season, is set to be sidelined for a 'few games' with a muscle injury and Martial is likely to be called upon to start against Sevilla at Old Trafford.
Sevilla fans booed Martial when he was on loan with their club last season and he has a point to prove. He also has a more important point to prove in Manchester, as he can certainly have a role to play in the coming weeks, provided he stays fit.
Ten Hag said the frontline of Antony, Jadon Sancho and Rashford 'worked really well' against Brentford and Everton, hence it staying the same, but he's unable to pick that attack for a third consecutive game due to the latter's injury.
Wout Weghorst or Martial? It's a no-brainer and it's time for Martial to step up in Rashford's absence. He's largely underwhelmed during his time at Old Trafford, but he can start to fight to be remembered better in the coming weeks.
"Tony Martial scores again," was sung after his goal on Saturday and it could be heard again on Thursday night.
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