“We are in a good mood and I think we are in the right direction,” said the manager on Wednesday afternoon. “So before we go into that intense programme in December, I think we're building and we're building confidence. We're building strong belief, and we're building also some routines.”

Our run of 10 matches begins against an Everton team that has just been docked 10 Premier League points and Ten Hag expects Goodison Park will be fired up. 

“It's definitely the case, but we can't do nothing for it and you have to take [it] like this,” he says. “But of course they get more fuel, but that can also work against them. 

“But it's not about that. It's about us. We have to focus on the game and on our way of playing, and we have to be making sure we are ready.”

UNITED’S FESTIVE FIXTURE LIST

In case you didn’t know, here’s how the rest of 2023 looks across all competitions…

Sun 26 Nov: Everton (A)

Wed 29 Nov: Galatasaray (A), Champions League

Sat 02 Dec: Newcastle United (A)

Wed 06 Dec: Chelsea (H)

Sat 09 Dec: Bournemouth (H)

Tue 12 Dec: Bayern Munich (H), Champions League

Sun 17 Dec: Liverpool (A)

Sat 23 Dec: West Ham United (A)

Tue 26 Dec: Aston Villa (H)

Sat 30 Dec: Nottingham Forest (A)

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