Pep Guardiola praises Erik ten Hag and Manchester United midfielder ahead of FA Cup final

Erik ten Hag will be the Manchester United for many years to come, according to Pep Guardiola.

The Man City manager is preparing to take his side into the first ever all-Manchester FA Cup final on Saturday, with hopes for a treble still alive. It will be down to Manchester United to change that and Erik ten Hag will be working on a plan.

United finished third in the Premier League and have won the Carabao Cup, so they will be trying to make it a cup double this weekend. It has already been a positive season but that would really end things on a high for Ten Hag’s first full campaign in charge.

While there is plenty at stake for both teams — City are going for the treble — Guardiola took time to praise Ten Hag’s impress work at United in his debut season.

“I identify a manager by how they are improving, just to see when he arrives and now,” Guardiola said. “To see the team getting better and better, that is not easy in the first season.

“I identify a really good manager, a part of that is a guy who represents our profession in the best way possible on the pitch and off the pitch. I cannot say we are friends, we are not in touch much. We had a short experience in Munich [when Ten Hag was a coach] but I think honestly United has an exceptional manager for many years.”

Guardiola also praised the impact of Casemiro, who came in last summer and completely transformed our midfield.

“I don’t know him but I have info when he was in Madrid, how professional he was, the quality he has,” the City manager said.

“I was convinced he wasn’t coming here just for holidays or the last years of his career.

“When you’ve won four or five Champions Leagues with Real Madrid it’s because you are special player. Otherwise you cannot be there for a long time.”

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