Ahead of this Saturday's FA Cup final, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has emphasized that neither he nor his team are driven by the desire to prevent rival Manchester City from winning the triple crown.
The last match of the domestic season will take place at Wembley between the Red Devils and the Citizens. Man City is halfway to the triple, while Man Utd is eager to add a second title to their collection for the 2022–23 season.
Only the Man Utd team of 1998–99 has ever won the Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup in the same season, thus Ten Hag's team has focused most of the attention leading up to Saturday's final on keeping that achievement alive.
The Dutchman is aware of what keeping that status would mean for fans, but it is not something that is "motivating" him or his team.
"I am aware of the supporters' thoughts. But our main goal is to win championships in order to rebuild Manchester United," Ten Hag added.
"Saturday is our chance to win a trophy, so we don't want anything to take our focus away from that. We shall do everything in our power to win the cup if it is crucial to the supporters.
"It won't increase the team's motivation because it is currently high enough and cannot be increased further. They have the chance to win a cup, which they covet.
Ten Hag was also told that he wanted to prove that Man Utd could defeat Man City without the aid of "fortune." In the most recent derby, which took place in January, the Red Devils prevailed 2-1 at Old Trafford, but not without controversy.
When Marcus Rashford was involved in the buildup, Bruno Fernandes' late equalizer was first disallowed for offside. However, VAR determined that Rashford was not interfering with play, therefore it was allowed to stand. A few minutes later, the England forward scored the winning goal.
Ten Hag, though, asserted that Manchester United deserved to win the match whatever, thus this isn't influencing his viewpoint.
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