Erik ten Hag said it was a pity he had to cost Marcus Rashford the chance to set a record by substituting the in-form forward in Manchester United’s 3-1 win over Reading.
No player has scored in 10 consecutive appearances for United at Old Trafford and Rashford, who was tied with the Busby Babe Dennis Viollet, had struck in each of his previous nine games. He then had a first-half goal disallowed against Paul Ince’s side, was taken off midway through the second half.
But Ten Hag cited United’s packed calendar, with his side set to play nine more games by March 5 and as they are the only English club still in four competitions.
He said: “Yes, it’s a pity for him and for him we had to take him off because there are so many games that are coming up and we need to keep him fresh but he deserved that goal. It would have been a record.
“And we know that but in the long term we need him. The disallowed goal is a frustration and I don’t think it was a disallowed goal.”
But Ten Hag said his squad is big enough to compete on all four fronts as he said he would not moan about their big workload, instead seeing it as a chance for players to develop an understanding.
He added: “I don’t complain, we know what the fixture schedule is. We have to deal with it. We have squads and squads are big enough to deal with it and players like to play. When you play often the same you are getting the routines in.”
United have won their last 11 games at Old Trafford and Ten Hag added: “This is a fortress but as always the next opponent will be more motivated and we have to be aware of that and it gives us confidence, clearly, but you have to make sure that you are In the right focus and get the right energy for the next game.”
