Bruno Fernandes says Erik ten Hag has told the Manchester United squad to concentrate on defeating Crystal Palace at Old Trafford on Saturday despite booking their place at Wembley for the League Cup final in midweek.
The midfielder also sent a plea to his teammates to “focus” on the clash with the Eagles after dropping two points against them last month. A late Michael Olise free-kick saw United held to a 1-1 draw at Selhurst Park on the night Casemiro picked up a yellow card suspension ahead of the loss to Arsenal.
There is a vibrant mood among United fans with the team on target for a top-four finish and a trip to Wembley booked for February 26 after their League Cup semi-final win over Nottingham Forest.
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However, it seems both Ten Hag and Fernandes are eager to ensure the team does not get ahead of itself with six games to play, including both legs of their Europa League knockout tie with Barcelona, before the showdown with Newcastle.
When asked about Ten Hag’s instructions ahead of Palace, Fernandes told club media: “The message at the moment is about looking at Crystal Palace, because it will be a pretty tough game.
“We have no time to rest, we have no time to disconnect, because we know how tough it is to play in the Premier League.
“We know how tough it is to play in the Carabao Cup, in the FA Cup, in the Europa League – against Barcelona – too. We have to focus on Crystal Palace, because we didn’t have the result we wanted at their home, so it’s now about us to do the best we can."
He added: “About finals, obviously it’s an amazing feeling [to get there] but if you don’t win it, it’s always tough. I used to say this in Portugal: 'you don’t play the finals, you win the finals'. Obviously being at this club it’s what people expect from you.
“Whenever we have to start thinking about that final, we have to have the mentality even higher than before in the previous games. It’s one game that can give us a really big push for the rest of the season.”
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