Erik ten Hag was in denial with his final Manchester United match press conference answers

Erik ten Hag did not help himself even after the final whistle blew on his final match in charge of Manchester United.

Ten Hag could become the answer to a pub quiz question: name the first manager to conduct a pre-match press conference for a match he did not manage in as he was sacked?

After Ten Hag's post-match debrief in the London Stadium, United held their pre-match briefing for the League Cup tie against Leicester City on Wednesday. Nineteen hours later, the club confirmed Ten Hag had been sacked.

One of the last questions Ten Hag was asked was: "You won this competition a couple of years ago, you've taken great pride in winning trophies in both seasons, if you win a trophy in a third season does that make the season a success again for you?"

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"Definitely," Ten Hag enthused. "It is about trophies, I don't want to go into this debate again. There are not so many trophies you can win, if you win a trophy in top football, that is the most important, that is what the fans expect, what we expect - to win a trophy.

"We have had five opportunities and one we missed, that was the Community Shield. There are still four to go." For United, maybe, but not for Ten Hag.

Ten Hag then claimed United's 14th-place standing in the Premier League table was not an accurate reflection of their performances. United have scored eight goals in nine games and conceded 11 to leave them with a -3 goal difference.

They have already lost four matches and their average points per game was cited in their rationale to make Ten Hag the earliest in-season United managerial sacking of the post-war era.

"We