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Erik ten Hag is not getting carried away with the comeback win against Brentford but acknowledged the importance of Manchester United’s improved mood and confidence levels ahead of the trip to Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce.
The Red Devils ended a concerning five-match winless run at Old Trafford on Saturday having fallen behind to an Ethan Pinnock header as the Bees capitalised on Matthijs de Ligt’s temporary absence due to a head wound.
United used that sense of injustice as fuel as Alejandro Garnacho’s fantastic volley and a cool Rasmus Hojlund finish secured a 2-1 Premier League victory that eases pressure on the manager.
It was an important win but not one that under-fire Ten Hag is overblowing as attention turns to Thursday’s match in Turkey, where they will try to kickstart their Europa League campaign against Fenerbahce.
“Always wins will bring you belief,” Ten Hag said. “Believing more will bring the confidence.
“You can perform quite well as we did in the start of the season. We had clean sheets, we created chances, but when you don’t net and you don’t win then of course everyone is disappointed, and everyone around is disappointed.
“But of course when you have a performance like this and you win, that will bring up the mood.
“But it’s only a win, that’s also what we have to consider, to realise, because we have to win every game.
“So, it’s only 24 hours and then we move on but definitely it will bring us confidence.”
The Fenerbahce match promises to be an interesting occasion given United have drawn their first two Europa League matches and take on their outspoken former manager Mourinho.
It continues an intense block of seven games in 23 days before November’s internationals, when Marcus Rashford may well be under consideration for an England recall.
The 26-year-old was overlooked for Euro 2024 after a poor season with United and has been omitted by interim boss Lee Carsley, but he is impressing of late and provided a fine cross for Garnacho’s leveller.
“Really enjoyed today how he played,” Ten Hag said of Rashford. “You see what he is capable of.
“We want to see this every game because then you see what he can contribute to the team.
“Really intense he played and then a brilliant cross – of course the finish was also brilliant – that was really enjoyable to watch.”
United head to West Ham after their trip to Turkey while Brentford will attempt to return to winning away against promoted Ipswich next weekend.
Bees boss Thomas Frank was disappointed by his players’ passive performance at Old Trafford after a promising first half in a defeat that means they have already dropped 10 points from winning positions.
“It’s quite a small sample from the season but of course we look at that as well,” the Brentford head coach said.
“We played away to Tottenham, Man City and then Man United. Of course I hope for more.
“I think this is the game when we had the better opportunities but when they scored the second in the 62nd minute I was a little bit disappointed we didn’t have a better response.
“I love my players, I think they still worked hard but just lacked that little extra character, want the ball, get out of tricky situations, keep the ball a bit more and you need that if you want to win here at Old Trafford.”
