Diogo Dalot exclusive: 'It is a good match' - Manchester United defender opens up on Erik ten Hag relationship
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ByOli Gent
Published 05/01/2024 at 15:15 GMT
Diogo Dalot has revealed that he thinks he and current Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag are "a good match" for each other, with the Portuguese right-back believing that he and the Dutchman share a similar outlook on the game of football and the role of a full-back. The defender also emphasised his focus on his "big wins" while at the club, which include fighting to stay at Old Trafford.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 26: Diogo Dalot of Manchester United celebrates after winning the match during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Aston Villa at Old Trafford on December 26, 2023 in Manchester, England.
Image credit: Getty Images
Diogo Dalot has revealed that he thinks he and current Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag are “a good match” for each other.
Speaking exclusively to TNT Sports’ Sign-Up show, the Portuguese defender believes that he and the Dutch head coach share similar outlooks on the game of football and the role that full-backs play in a Ten Hag system.
Dalot has often been Ten Hag’s first-choice right-back since the Dutchman arrived at the Old Trafford helm in the summer of 2022, with him being a more offensive option to the defensively-minded Aaron Wan-Bissaka on the right side of the Red Devils’ back four.
In recent weeks, Dalot has filled in at the left-back berth in the absence of Luke Shaw, with Wan-Bissaka reassuming his duties on the right.
United’s backline has been unsettled this term through a growing injury list, with Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez, Victor Lindelof, Raphael Varane, Shaw and Wan-Bissaka all having their respective spells on the sidelines with various niggles.
Dalot, however, has been one of the key mainstays, and has contributed one goal - a spectacular strike from range against Sheffield United in October - and one assist, a floated cross for Alejandro Garnacho’s bicycle kick against Everton so far this term.
After falling out of favour under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Dalot has emphasised his strong relationship with the Norwegian’s successor Ten Hag.
“Sometimes you just click with managers and players or team-mates and I think as soon as he came, that happened,” Dalot said.
“The way that he sees football, the way that he sees the full-back position, I think it suits really well to what I see and what I like as well. I think it was a good match; him, me and other players.
"You could see that, that we had many players that started really well since he came. I like to say that it is a good match and I'm hoping that it keeps like that.”
Despite the lack of any significant silverware under Ten Hag’s rule, Dalot has asserted that he is more focused, at least in the short-term, on the “small wins”.
He said: “[There are] many [highlights since I’ve been here]. I look at the small wins. Sometimes you look at winning by just winning trophies or achievements with the team, but for me, it’s been the small things, looking back and seeing the way that I fought to stay at this club, getting a position in the team, and that for me has been the biggest achievement so far.
“Then, collectively, you’re here to win trophies and competitions. Last season, we won a trophy, and it was very special for me.”
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