Goals from Jadon Sancho and Cristiano Ronaldo helped Manchester United to a comfortable 2-0 win over Sheriff Tiraspol in Moldova on Thursday night.

 

Ten Hag decided to field his strongest eleven and they got the job done in the Europa League game without breaking a sweat.

 

 

Nicol admitted that it was not an exciting or sparking performance, but Manchester United got the job done professionally and he feels the Dutchman has identified the base of players he can trust for the rest of the season.

 

He conceded that Manchester United might not be playing breathtaking football but Ten Hag is getting them to win games and gradually build up more confidence.

 

 

Asked to describe Manchester United’s performance, Nicol said on ESPN FC: “Nothing to get excited about.

 

“Professional is absolutely the word [to describe the performance].

 

“Ronaldo got his goal with a penalty kick, they get the victory and Ten Hag gets a chance to put the base of his team pretty much back on the field.

 

 

“He is going to play the majority of this team as much as he can and as often as he can, to build something.

 

“Regardless of whether they were sparkling or snazzy, it’s about winning games, building up confidence and building the team up.

 

“Maybe you are not Brazil in disguise but you are winning games and that’s what Ten Hag, other than the Sociedad result, has done since the Liverpool game.”

 

He insisted that there are definitely signs of improvement but feels the most important aspect is that Manchester United do look mentally stronger under Ten Hag.

 

“Absolutely yes [I have seen improvement under Ten Hag].

 

“I think the biggest thing is that this team don’t look like if something goes wrong they are going to fall apart, which is huge considering where they were.”