The manager of Manchester United, Erik ten Hag, has maintained his defense of criticised forward Anthony Martial, saying the Frenchman helps his club play their "best football."
Martial had a strong preseason and early weeks of the current season under Ten Hag, but recurring injuries have limited him to just 17 appearances across all competitions.
Ten Hag opted to support the Frenchman during Wednesday's press conference, even retorting when questioned about his continuous support, which has angered many fans due to Martial's ongoing absence.
Ten Hag referred to Martial's performance this season, which included seven goals and two assists in 799 minutes. "You say I defended him, but I just point to the stats, which tell you the moment he's on the pitch, the time he needs for a goal is really less," said Ten Hag.
"We play our best football and achieve our best results as a team when he is in the lineup, and by that I mean the matches versus Man City and Liverpool.
"I can see how he helps this team out,"
Martial has started just one of United's previous three Premier League games, but Ten Hag stated the Frenchman will start the team's next several matches with Marcus Rashford out with an injury for the foreseeable future.
The boss insisted, "We're prudent; we don't need to push things.
"At Brentford and Everton, the frontline performed admirably. We were a constant threat and made it difficult for the opposition to defend.
"He is prepared to start games, but as I mentioned, the front line performed admirably against Brentford, so we chose to keep it up against Everton, and they did so once more.
The benefit was that we could gradually reintegrate Martial into the team and give him playing time so he could get used to high-stakes games and higher intensity, but already against Everton he was prepared to start the game.
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