Porto head coach Vitor Bruno says he ‘really likes’ Erik ten Hag and has invited the Manchester United manager for a glass of wine after the two teams meet in the Europa League on Thursday night.
An under-fire Ten Hag received the backing of United bosses in the summer after steering the club to an unlikely FA Cup final victory over Manchester City at the end of last season.
But the Dutchman finds himself under intense pressure once again and widespread reports suggest he has two games to save his job, starting at Porto’s Estadio do Dragao.
The contest comes just four days on from United’s 3-0 defeat to Tottenham at Old Trafford, where goals from Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke piled yet more misery on Ten Hag’s men after a poor start to Premier League campaign.
The Red Devils were held to a disappointing 1-1 draw by FC Twente in their Europa League opener prior to Sunday’s defeat to Spurs and require a much-improved performance to keep their critics and doubters at bay.
Asked whether it could be a good time to face United, Porto boss Vitor Bruno replied: ‘Quite the opposite.
‘We always see Manchester United as a threat and there is never a good time to face them.
‘We have to be ourselves and treat them with a lot of respect because they have a lot of individuals, as a team too.
‘I know you’re talking about their last game against Tottenham.
‘But you have to look at the whole picture.’
Pressed for his thoughts on Ten Hag, Vitor Bruno explained: ‘I haven’t met him yet, but I really like him.
‘There’s a coach in Portugal who’s now at Braga, his name is Carlos Carvalhal, who was in the Premier League and the Championship.
‘He used to say that after games they would go and have a glass of wine together. If Ten Hag wants, the door is open.’
Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of United’s trip to Porto, Ten Hag insisted the prospect of getting sacked had not even entered his thoughts.
‘I’m not thinking about it, I’m not anxious. We are together,’ the ex-Ajax manager said.
‘We created a togetherness in the summer with the ownership and the leadership.
‘We made this agreement and we were all behind it. We also know the strategy [is to bring in] young players in a transition period.
‘They also know in the end when we are May, in all my last six seasons, always there were trophies. That is what we are also now aiming for.’
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