Erik ten Hag insists Dan Gore earned his Manchester United debut after meeting his high standards on the training pitch.
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United eased into the fourth round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday evening with a 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace with Alejandro Garnacho, Casemiro and Anthony Martial on the score sheet at Old Trafford.
With the manager making seven changes to the side, Garnacho took his chance in the starting XI with Hannibal Mejbri also rewarded with another start in midfield after his recent displays.
Ten Hag turned to another youngster in Gore on the hour mark, introducing him for Sofyan Amrabat with the midfielder, who was part of the FA Youth Cup-winning side alongside Garnacho in 2022, turning in a polished performance on the day of his 19th birthday.
‘I think it’s a great birthday for him, but I’m not a manager – and we don’t have coaches here – who give players opportunities [for nothing], they have to deserve it,’ ten Hag told MUTV.
‘Once they deserve it, they get the chance.
‘But then, they have to prove it and I think, the young players like Hannibal, Pellistri and Garnacho, they have to do it every time and we are very critical, they deserve it every day in training.
‘When the standards are too low, they will hear it and we don’t play them because they have to train every day to the maximum.’
Garnacho meanwhile started United’s first two games of the season before losing his place in the side. Despite registering his first goal of the campaign against Palace, ten Hag wants even more from the player, after admitting that his contributions were ‘not good enough’ earlier in the campaign.
‘You have seen, at the start of the season we played them. His contribution was not good enough,’ Ten Hag said in his post-match press conference.
‘He had some good actions. You see he is always a threat in a game, even when he is not playing well. He has to learn when he does his job and he is defending, he will always have his moment and he will always be decisive, because he has great qualities.
‘It is not only off the ball. I want to see him entering the box and finishing. I think it is quite normal for a player of this age to have lots of space for improvement, but I like him.
‘But we have to demand him and push him. He can get to a very high level, but he needs to show it every day.’
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