Ten Hag aware of Everton's threat

The Toffees are currently battling to keep their Premier League status this season but have seen a recent upturn in results following the appointment of former Burnley boss Sean Dyche back in January.

Having only lost twice on the road since his appointment, the Merseysiders are becoming something of a tough nut to crack, drawing 1-1 with our top-four rivals Spurs at Goodison Park on Monday.

United, however, will be buoyed following our 1-0 midweek success over Brentford at Old Trafford, as we look to continue our formidable home record so far this season.

Ten Hag was keen to emphasise this as he spoke as part of his pre-game Q&A with club media. Scroll down to both read, and watch, everything the boss had to say...

Erik how important was the victory against Brentford in the context of such a tough and very competitive Premier League?
"I think Brentford is one of the best teams in the Premier League, really well-structured and really hard to beat. They showed that in the 16 fixtures before with only one loss and that was against our opponent from tomorrow. You have to be really good to beat them and it was an outstanding performance from our team, after Sunday when we played really poor. We bounced back and once again that shows that the team has character and personality, the spirit is very good and that will help us till the end of the season, but also in going game-by-game. As I have said, tomorrow is another tough game because they are in survival mode and they are the most difficult games to play."

A couple of players mentioned after Brentford how well the game was managed, particularly in that second half when we were coming under so much pressure. How important is that concentration and maturity in order to secure three points?
"The managing of the game is really important and in the first half, we played in all facets off football, [it was] fantastic. If you don't get the second goal in the second half then the team has to notice [this] and get it over the line. They have to sometimes more pragmatic and I think that is what the team did. They gave away one chance and then it was a deflected shot by Scott [McTominay] and it was a great save from Scott. But that was all the opponent had and it was really good performance from us."

You mentioned about the challenge of Everton, how big is it to face a team who are fighting for their lives at the bottom of the table?
"Very difficult. You see that approach and it is normal, as at the end of the season in the table, everything is really close together so there is a really big competition in all facets on top and at the bottom, so you have to be ready for every game. You need energy, you need focus, you need the team performance and therefore you need a good team spirit, therefore when you don't have it, you get killed and we have to be aware of it. We have to be proactive, make the game, dominate the game and then win the game."

What did you learn from Everton about the two previous meetings, the win at Goodison and the win at Old Trafford in the FA Cup?
"It's done, it is away and obviously the squad is almost the same, they haven't made so many changes in the winter, but they have changed their manager. That makes it a different approach because this manager I think he is putting focus on different elements of football and you can see that this is a really fit team, Everton. It is a mentally strong team and they have a good togetherness, which makes them tough to beat, so we have to play our best football."

Sean Dyche has made a few adjustments and they seem more difficult to beat now. Is that fair?
"I just tried to express this, they are difficult to beat. We have to play our best and when we don't play to our maximum standards then you have a problem. We have to avoid that and we have to be proactive, we have to be on the front-foot, dynamic in creating chances and make sure our defensive organisation is always right."

Just finally, what is the team news ahead of the game, Luke Shaw obviously came off early in midweek?
'"Luke] Shaw is unfortunately not available tomorrow. We are not too negative in this moment but I can't say when he will return. The good news is Christian Eriksen is returning into the squad."