Press conference: Everything Erik said before Galatasaray (H)

On Monday afternoon, the boss sat alongside centre-back Raphael Varane inside the Jimmy Murphy Centre at our Carrington training base to field questions from journalists before Tuesday’s matchday two meeting at Old Trafford.

The media briefing began with Ten Hag talking about how his squad has reacted to Saturday’s Premier League loss at home to Crystal Palace.

The Dutchman went on to provide the latest United team news and give his thoughts on the Turkish champions, who we will face at 20:00 BST tomorrow.

First of all, how have the team and the group been since Saturday? It seems to be a case of one step forward, two steps back at the moment...
"Of course, we are disappointed about the result, you have to analyse the game and where the problems [were] and then you have to move forward, but also give solutions for the problems. [That is] clear."

In terms of selection for tomorrow, will Antony be in consideration? And will any players be back?
"Yeah, Antony will be in consideration. Yesterday was his first time back in team training, we have a final training and then we [will] make the decision. But he will be in consideration, yeah."

Erik, you've said in the past you're not a very patient person, is it frustrating, annoying that the team don't seem to be able to move forward and do what you want them to do? Are you struggling to get answers to this at the start of the season?
"I don't agree with that. I think the team is moving forward, but we have to make adjustments as well. When you don't have a full-back on the left side you have to change and we did. There were shortages in our game [on Saturday against Crystal Palace], definitely, but also I think there were very positive points. But at the end of the day, it's only about the result and we didn't get the result, but we are looking for it. We didn't get the result, what the demand is, and of course that is very disappointing."

There's been a lot of focus on VAR and refereeing decisions this weekend, you had some problems with it in the past, do you think standards need to improve and we need greater transparency in terms of clearer communication between officials?
"I don't so often give comment on the refereeing because they do what they have to do. Of course, the standards have to be high, it's part of the game. This season, one time, I think I mention it and I am still behind it because it was really in our disadvantage at that moment. But the rest, no. Of course, you can expect, we can expect, teams can expect, the fans can all expect that it has to be a high standard, so it should be because it's [the] Premier League. I'm sure they do what they can, they're very professional, so they will give their best. I trust them."

In terms of team news, can you give us confirmation that Lisandro will be undergoing a second operation? And is there any people returning back into team training?
"I can confirm, yeah. Licha Martinez will have to undergo a surgery, so the team news is that probably Antony dos Santos can return."

What message do you think allowing Antony to continue training and potentially playing sends to other victims of domestic violence and does that worry you?
"He co-operated fully and it came out he is not charged."

How difficult is it to get senior players out of a bad run? So, if it's younger players you can maybe take them out of the team but with more senior players, if their form is off, is it better to let them play through it or is it better to take them out of the firing line? How do you balance that?
"You have to deal with it and experienced players know how to deal with it. It's not the first time that we are in such a situation, players we now mentioned are in such a situation, because a career is not only highlights. The journey will go with bumps, gaps will be in between. Now it's about the character, individual character, as a team, what you have to show to get out [of it]. As you see, there are many, many positives in our game but also some lacks and we have to work on the lacks, keep the positives but work on the lacks and deficits we have in our game."

Is this game more important for the result rather than the performance or would you like to see both?
"As I said previously, top football is always about results but if the execution is not right, if the process is not right, you don't go to win. So both."

In Turkey, we are really curious about the goalkeeper Altay Bayindir because we expected you to play him in the League Cup against Crystal Palace, so do you plan to give him a chance against Galatasaray or any time soon?
"You will see, but we chose against Crystal Palace in the League Cup to play Andre because both came new in and both have to adapt to the English standard, so that's why we preferred Andre to play in that game. It's important for him to use every game in this moment, but yeah, we also have to progress Altay, that's clear. He makes a very good impression in training, he's really developing, progressing, so we're very happy with that and we are convinced we have the two right goalkeepers in our squad to do the job for us."

Galatasaray have two really dangerous players - [Mauro] Icardi and [Wilfried] Zaha - and Wilfried knows Manchester United really well. Do you have any defensive strategies against these two?
"Absolutely, we know that they are [dangerous]. But it's not only Zaha and Icardi, there is also Dries Mertens, if Hakim Ziyech is available, if Tete [is]. so they have more good players. Angelino can be very offensive and creative, [Kerem] Demirbay [can too] so it's about [the] team and we have to defend that as a team, we will be aware we have to play our best to get the right result."

Marcus Rashford is not playing with the same confidence and effectiveness as he did last season when he got 30 goals, why do you think he is struggling? And what can you and your coaching staff do to get Marcus back to his best, scoring regularly again?
"The facts are that he is not scoring at this moment but also he had opportunities. For instance, the game against Brighton, he had five or six occasions that he was in a very good spot. If he works hard and if he invests every day, and goes into every game with the right focus, and if the team around him supply him and help him with movement, it will come. Marcus Rashford is a player who is always capable to score in every game. When he is coming in the right spots, he will score."