Ten Hag: We have to keep our options fresh

The Reds were without injured forward Anthony Martial, with Cristiano Ronaldo leading the line in attack, in our 0-0 draw with the Magpies.

Marcus Rashford was introduced as a late substitute, as United were held to a share of the spoils in a frustrating afternoon at Old Trafford.

Both Fred and Rashford went close to claiming all three points during the closing stages, with Ten Hag explaining how our busy schedule has to be managed correctly in terms of squad rotation.

''We have to cover four games in 10 days," said the boss, in his post-match press conference. "For the strikers, I want to keep them fresh and we have to rotate there. 

''We had problems with [Anthony] Martial as he is not available at the moment, he has to play less.''

With another four games to come before the end of a busy month, our next outing comes in just three days' time, as we prepare to take on Antonio Conte's Tottenham side at Old Trafford.

An away trip to Chelsea's Stamford Bridge soon follows on Saturday evening, before back-to-back home games against Sheriff Tiraspol and West Ham United complete our scheduling for October.

Hoping to build on our impressive form of late, Ten Hag also amplified how he wishes to get a positive result in each and every one of our upcoming clashes.

"[Marcus] Rashford was under the weather as he didn't have the energy for the full game, so we have to make a plan to cover that," he added.

"The four games we have, we want to win the four games or, at least, get a result in all four games."

Hopefully Rashford will be firing on all cylinders by the time Tottenham's visit comes around in midweek.