Erik: We will put things right on the pitch

The Reds will travel to Craven Cottage for our latest Premier League encounter, as we bid to return to winning ways in the capital.

Having claimed all three points on our last trip to Fulham back in November 2022, when Alejandro Garnacho's late winner sparked wild scenes amongst the away supporters, Erik hopes his team can replicate that this afternoon.

Speaking to club media ahead of the clash, Ten Hag told us how his players are fully focused on the job at hand. You can read, and watch, everything the boss had to say below...

Erik, can we start with the team news? We heard about the blow for Casemiro. What is the latest on him?
“He is not available. [He is] unavailable for a long period, so that is a big miss. But it is what is is and we have to accept it. It is terrible for Casemiro and the team, but others have to take the responsibility and take his position. I am sure we have a squad which can replace him.”

Away from Casemiro, how is the rest of the squad looking ahead of the trip to Fulham?
“Rapha Varane is back in the squad, back from his illness. For the rest, Victor Lindelof is a little bit ill and we will have to see if he will travel. For the rest the squad, it is the same as in midweek against Newcastle United.”

It was good to see Aaron Wan-Bissaka again after injury and a recent spell on the sidelines. Is he an important player to have back in the group, as it gives you more options?
“Yes, especially in the back as everybody knows we have struggled a lot with injuries there. We are happy Rapha Varane is back, Aaron Wan-Bissaka is back, Sergio Reguilon is back. So now we are waiting for more, like Luke Shaw. It is important that we have options because we have [lots of] games coming and it gives you the base to play.”

It is a big chance to bounce back this weekend against Fulham. What are you looking for from your players?
“We all know we let each other down, so we want to bounce back as you say. I am sure we will do [this]. This group is positive about bouncing back and they want to be in the fight. They stick together and you can see the spirit is good. If you see the comeback against Brentford, you can see they want to do things better and we will put things right.”

Scott McTominay told us the players are angry about the way things are going, he is clearly hurting. We know the players are all hurting. Is that something you have seen?
“Yeah of course, they are hurting. I know the fans too, it hurts for them. We know, especially for them, we want to do things better.”

As an Academy graduate like Scott, Marcus Rashford will be another of those players hurt by the recent results. We have seen glimpses of his best form this season so is it now just about him finding that again? We know he is a fantastic player, a hugely important one...
“Absolutely. I am sure he will be back on track, as I see him performing like that in training, performing so well. I think it will be a short [time] before he is back on track and he will make a lot of goals for us and be very important for us. Once we find our rhythm and the team finds the rhythm, it will be easier for him.”

Fulham secured a good win in midweek [against Ipswich in the Carabao Cup]. What are you expecting from them at Craven Cottage?
“It is always a good place to go. It is a challenge, but it also so motivating. To go there and to face them, they are a good side, but we have to play our game. We have to play our best against them to beat them.”

Last season's win there was perhaps one of our best connections we had all season with the fans - Garnacho's late winner, that feeling of exhilaration. Can that connection make the difference again as we know how well our fans travel?
“Absolutely. They are always behind us, also in the week after two defeats at Old Trafford, they are always behind us. So we really credit them for that. It shows we are together. We are in a difficult period but we are behind each other and [we know] what we can expect from each other. When you are together in a fight, we will come through it. We will put it right and in the end, it is about the end result. When the players are returning [from injury], we will play better and the performances will be better.”