Erik ten Hag talks trophies as Carabao Cup semi-final looms

Erik ten Hag has discussed Manchester United’s trophy chances as his squad embark on their first semi-final.

Manchester United will face Nottingham Forest on Wednesday evening in their first semi-final under Erik ten Hag, with the fixture taking place across two legs.

Manchester United have not won a trophy since the Europa League in 2017, with the last domestic trophy coming in February of that year under Jose Mourinho.

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Erik ten Hag has the chance to replicate Mourinho by winning a trophy in his first season at the club, with Nottingham Forest standing in the way of a trip to Wembley.

Speaking ahead of the first leg of the tie, Erik ten Hag has recognised the importance of winning trophies for the club, but played down talk for now.

“In January you don’t win trophies, in February you can win one, we have to aim for that and go for that,” he said in he pre-match press conference on Tuesday. “It’s more about getting in the right positions in April to go for trophies.”

He continued speaking about winning trophies, but also made sure to mention that the United squad and fans should still take it game by game, and not get ahead of themselves.

“It’s about that, it’s about winning trophies, so we have a good opportunity but we have to go game from game,” he said. “Now we play Forest two legs, so focus on the first leg, don’t think further ahead because that will distract and so the aim for tomorrow is win that game.”

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Manchester United are one of the most successful teams of all time – winning more Premier League trophies than any other club and collecting a considerable number of their titles under Sir Alex Ferguson, who left the club almost a decade ago.

“I think the fans here have some experience (of winning trophies), especially the older ones,” Ten Hag recognised. “In this period Manchester United didn’t win trophies, it’s too long ago. We are aware of that fact and we have to do it again.”

Ten Hag himself is not unfamiliar with silverware, winning a host of trophies during his time at Ajax, including three Dutch league titles and other domestic trophies.

“It’s the best feeling you can have, winning a trophy,” he explained. “And I have the luck in my career to win some trophies and it’s magnificent, especially for the fans, it’s so great.”

With Manchester United playing in two domestic cup competitions in the next seven days, this will no doubt prove to be a pivotal week in continuing to assess how Ten Hag’s first season as Manchester United manager is panning out.