Ten Hag optimistic for future

The manager was asked about the INEOS transaction, which was confirmed on Christmas Eve subject to regulatory approval, during his post-match press conference, following the pulsating 3-2 victory over Aston Villa.

The Reds trailed 2-0 at the interval but roared back with a double by Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund's first Premier League goal.

"I don't think it has had an impact on the players," said Ten Hag. "And so for me, I kept informed and during the whole process, first from Richard Arnold, later on from Patrick Stewart.

"So I knew what's going on. Yeah, we're looking forward. I think it's positive for the club that they are in, they’re stepping in. They have a lot of experience in sport on the highest level: F1, [the] cycling team, other football clubs. So it can only help and support us to catch our targets. So we are looking forward. They want to work with us, and we want to work with them."

In a separate interview with the official match broadcasters, Ten Hag explained that he is looking ahead to a bright future, with one game left in 2023, Saturday's trip to a Nottingham Forest side buoyed by a brilliant 3-1 win at Newcastle United in the early Boxing Day kick-off.

"We are optimists," said Erik. "We were kept informed during the whole process so we knew what was going on. It's very good and I'm looking forward to working with them. It's very positive for Manchester United, I know. For now, we were focusing on the game and to get the win. For our season, it was so important that we bounced back and showed character. 

"That's very important for this team to get a base we can build on."