Diogo Dalot has warned his Manchester United teammates of the quality of Tottenham manager Nuno Espirito Santo and that they must be ready for the 'challenge' his side will bring.
Thanks to a rare mid-week without any games, United have had plenty of time to reflect, analyse and learn from the 5-0 drubbing they were given by fierce rivals Liverpool on Sunday.
It's been a challenging week for the club and especially manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, whose job still hangs in the balance even though he survived the humiliating loss.
A big reaction will be needed from the team as they travel to North London to face Spurs, but Dalot has warned that they are in for another difficult game against a very good coach.
Espirito Santo hasn't had the easiest time since taking over at Tottenham after leaving Wolves in the summer, but his team are currently a point above United going into the match.
“He is a fantastic coach,” Dalot told United's website on his compatriot. “I mean, what he did in Wolverhampton was outstanding. Now he went to Spurs and is also doing a good job, so it's always a tough manager to go up against because he’s good, he's very good.
“So, we're going to have to be prepared for that, as well as obviously the fantastic players that their squad has. We need to be ready for any kind of challenge for this game.”
While United had the week off, Spurs were in League Cup action - defeating Burnley - and Dalot thinks the extra recovery time will benefit his team.
The right-back also heaped praise on supporters after they continued to chant for the team even when they went 5-0 down on Sunday.
"I think the fans, they describe what the club is about,” he added. “Even in the bad moments, they’re always there, they're always there supporting us. This needs to drive us as well, when things are not going the way that we wanted. Saturday is a fantastic opportunity for us to turn this around, to get back to the good results and we are looking forward to it.
“We know that we've come in with some results that we didn't want. But we need to move forward, and Tottenham is the perfect game to play. Against a very good team, away from home, with our away fans that are amazing in supporting us. We just need to see that as an advantage to go into Saturday and win the game.
“We have had more time to recover [than Tottenham]. So, it's been a good week to get energy back, to look forward to the game, we’ve prepared well, and obviously as soon as the referee blows his whistle we are ready to fight and try to win the game.”
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