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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Steven Railston

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag responds to Sir Alex Ferguson phrase question

Erik ten Hag could not help himself from smiling when asked about the famous 'squeaky bum time' phrase that was coined by Sir Alex Ferguson.

Everton took an early lead against Manchester United through Alex Iwobi at Goodison Park on Sunday night, but Ten Hag's side quickly responded to that setback with goals from Antony and Cristiano Ronaldo.

United defended well and with great character in the second half, and Everton were unable to score an equaliser. United were under pressure at the back in the latter stages of the contest, though, and David de Gea made a fantastic save to protect the lead.

ALSO READ: What it's like to work under United manager Ten Hag

After Everton pushed for a goal but were unable to equalise, United won the match and Ten Hag was interviewed by MUTV, with the club reporter asking him whether it was a case of 'squeaky bum time'. A smiling Ten Hag replied: "What is squeaky bum time?".

Squeaky bum time refers to a tense period in a football match which leads to people shuffling back and forth in their seats and making a squeaking noise.

After the reporter explained what the saying meant, a chuckling Ten Hag said: "Yes, you want to avoid that, which means scoring the third goal and that was my feeling in the first half.

"We wanted more goals because we dominated the game, we created good chances, so if we scored, the manager could sit easier on the bench and watch the game. I think first 35 minutes we were good, impressive, even then we had sloppy moments.

"But we had a good formation on the ball, we crested chances and the pressing was good in the first half. We didn't allow Everton to come in our half. We didn't allow their game, which is a lot of crosses and a big threat - we avoided that."

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