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Erik ten Hag is demanding Manchester United raise the bar once again having overseen “necessary” and “immense” improvements during his first year in charge. Last summer the Dutchman took the reins at a club in disarray, with a lack of coherency, quality and joined-up thinking resulting in a wretched 2021-22 campaign. Ten Hag brought in a new style, implemented demanding standards and handled star Cristiano Ronaldo’s exit as well he could before masterminding the end of United’s six-year wait for silverware. The Carabao Cup triumph was followed by a third-placed Premier League finish and FA Cup final loss to eventual treble winners Manchester City, who are the target as they push for further improvements. “I think the levels all across increased (at an) immense (level) and that was necessary,” Ten Hag said, reflecting on his first year in charge. “But, still, we are not there where we want to be and we have to raise the bar, so we have to go to next levels. “You learn always and I think English football evolves and I think you see nowadays the league is stronger and stronger. When you compare it with three, four years ago, it’s definitely the case. “Because all the strong players get attracted to the Premier League, all the best managers got attracted to the Premier League, so every time it develops and progresses. “It’s really a challenge and I’m really looking forward again to go in the season and to get the challenge.” United have been bolstered heading into the new season by the arrivals of Mason Mount from Chelsea and Inter Milan’s adventurous goalkeeper Andre Onana. Rasmus Hojlund is set to join them after United agreed a deal in principle to sign the talented Atalanta striker for a £64million fee rising to £72m – a potentially key addition to a goal-shy group. “I can’t talk about this player in this moment because I’m a long time in football and I know first we need signings,” said Ten Hag, who always tends to keeps cards close to his chest. “So far, we have to keep calm and let the professionals do their work. “ Hojlund’s arrival will take United’s summer outlay to £162.8m – a figure that would increase to £179.2m if the respective clauses in the three arrivals’ contracts are met. Club success is key to many of those add-ons and fans could be concerned it will be hard to reach those heights under the Glazers given their track record. Hope that their long, unpopular ownership could end grew with November’s announcement of a “strategic review” at United, with Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe placing bids. But the Glazers are dragging their heels and no resolution is in sight with the Premier League kick-off less than a fortnight away. “I focus on my job, and that is to improve the team,” Ten Hag told the PA news agency when asked about the takeover situation. “I have to do my work to sign the players and I have to work on the way of play. That is my focus area. “That’s what I’ve done, so I don’t get distracted from any of the strategic review. That’s what others in the club will deal with. We are building, we are building a project. We want to win trophies Erik ten Hag “We have a good information line. We’re sharing the information, so I know where I am and I can focus on my job. “Most of the times (the information) is going over (chief executive) Richard Arnold or (football director) John Murtough. But sometimes also we have direct contact, as you have seen in New York.” Ten Hag faced a variety of questions about different topics in the New York area ahead of kicking off their US tour with a 2-0 friendly win against Arsenal at MetLife Stadium. The Dutchman pointed back to his comments there when asked for an update on Mason Greenwood, who has been suspended since January 2022. The Crown Prosecution Service announced in February that all charges, including attempted rape and assault, had been dropped but an internal investigation continues. “I explained in New York and I don’t think I have to reply again on that question,” Ten Hag said. “I answered this question, but I can’t every time answer the same question.” Another major topic heading into the New York leg was the United captaincy as Ten Hag had just stripped Harry Maguire of the armband and handed it to Bruno Fernandes. The club have since rejected a £20m bid from West Ham for the out-of-favour defender, who it was suggested could dominate the first few months of the season like Ronaldo did last term. “I don’t see it like that, but you can have that impression,” Ten Hag retorted. “That’s your choice. “But not last year, not this year. We are building, we are building a project. We want to win trophies. “And, so we have to invest in the way of play, we have to invest in the team and our focus is not on one player.” Ten Hag says consistency across the team is essential if United are to kick on next season, with the early acquisitions of Mount and Onana boosting their preparations. “I wouldn’t call it an Erik ten Hag squad,” the manager added. “It’s about the demands of top football. “We have to find the players, or we have to increase the levels from the players who are there. “I think many players improved during last season. My expectation is that we can make another step that we increase the levels of the individuals.” Read More Manchester United agree deal for Atalanta striker Rasmus Hojlund Manchester United confident of signing striker as Rasmus Hojlund talks continue Bellingham scores first goal for Real Madrid in win over Man United Wrexham co-owner Rob McElhenney meets Man United boss Erik ten Hag Manchester United make ‘progress’ in transfer search for new striker Manchester United transfer news: Hojlund, Henderson, Amrabat, Bailly and more

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“One month before the fight, we were so happy; it was a dream,” Ciryl Gane reminisces. Then comes a laugh. “One minute after the fight, it was a nightmare.” It is easy to forget, but the hype around Gane’s title fight with Jon Jones in March was not based on the latter’s long-awaited return alone. There was genuine anticipation for what could have been an intriguing contest between a light-heavyweight great, in Jones, and a heavyweight contender who moves like a welterweight, in Gane. Once the fight started, however, that intrigue was extinguished within moments. Gane, failing to do himself justice – as he would tell you – was taken down early and submitted as the clock ticked past the two-minute mark. “My coach told me every day, every time, every training [session]: ‘Don’t throw the backhand,’” Gane tells The Independent. “‘If you want, [throw] the jab – maybe the uppercut – but not the backhand.’ I threw the backhand, he caught me.” Indeed, Jones dipped his head off the centre line as Gane overcommitted to a left cross, then engulfed the 33-year-old, hauling him to the canvas – weighing down on Gane with every ounce of his new, 248lbs heavyweight frame. Once Gane had been forced to the fence, there was no escape. Jones locked in a guillotine choke, and before the fans in Las Vegas had time to comprehend what had happened, the American had forced his opponent to tap. The vacant heavyweight title was vacant no longer. To many onlookers, Jones’s status as the greatest ever was confirmed within those 124 seconds. And what of Gane, the former interim champion who was sitting with his back against the cage, staring up at his victorious opponent, and coming to terms with a second loss in an undisputed-title fight? The Frenchman was, suddenly, no longer an example of the ‘modern’ heavyweight, and instead a kickboxer with a gaping hole in his game – a gap that Jones had exploited mercilessly. “I was confident in this position [on the mat],” Gane insists, “but I did [something] wrong. When we went back to the gym after the fight, we did only wrestling and grappling, every day. I was already confident, but I know it’s really normal to be more confident and have better reflexes when you do something every day. This is gonna help me for sure.” Technical faults can be addressed, of course, but fighters sometimes suffer from intangible issues in bouts of this magnitude – in moments of this magnitude – that can define results and careers, and that are less easily expelled. “It was really difficult to explain,” Gane says. “People asked me if I felt a lot of pressure during the fight, during the press conference, the waiting... Did you see me afraid? No, I was really happy to be there! I wanted to fight against the GOAT and prove that I’m a good fighter. In the cage, in front of the opponent, everybody saw me really confident. But when we started, and during the fight, something switched – I don’t know exactly why. I couldn’t manage the distance, I was not there. I think when you have a bad feeling, it’s harder to be good technically. “I was not ‘here’,” Gane stresses again. “It was not me, it just was not me – everybody knows that. That’s why today, when everybody asks me if I want revenge: Yes, I want revenge, just because I want to prove that I’m better than that and can put Jon Jones through more adversity.” It is unclear whether Jones will still be around by the time Gane earns a prospective third shot at the UFC heavyweight title. The American, 35, was absent from the Octagon for three years before returning to fight Gane, and his plan to face heavyweight ‘GOAT’ Stipe Miocic before the end of the year looks fragile. Jones has also continually exchanged verbal barbs with Francis Ngannou – his predecessor as UFC heavyweight champion, and a former teammate and opponent of Gane. But while Jones’s next step is ambiguous, Gane’s is clear. The Frenchman, a year on from headlining the UFC’s first-ever French card, will once again fight in a main event in Paris this September. Sergey Spivak, the Moldovan heavyweight with three stoppage wins in his last three fights, will be the tormented tourist at the Accor Arena. “This is my mindset: Every time people ask who I want to fight next, it doesn’t matter who,” Gane says. “I just want to fight, do my job, my mission. I’m a competitor, so any opponent you put in front of me is going to be my mission. Spivak is well rounded – good ground game, good wrestler – so yes, it’s gonna be a test. I’m really happy about that. We’re gonna work on [what we need to work on], and I’m gonna do my best.” In undisputed-title fights, Gane has struggled to do his best; in every other bout, his best has been more than enough. That bodes well for “Bon Gamin” – the “Good Kid” – as he wakes from his Jon Jones nightmare and begins to dream of UFC gold again. Ciryl Gane headlines the UFC’s second ever Paris event, against Sergey Spivak, on 2 September. Tickets will go on general sale at 9am BST on Friday 23 June, via Accor Arena. Read More Tyson Fury claims UFC has offered him ‘hybrid fight’ with Jon Jones Joe Rogan is right: Tyson Fury has ‘no chance in hell’ against Jon Jones Jared Cannonier breaks UFC record in win over Marvin Vettori Topuria vs Emmett live stream: How to watch UFC Fight Night online and on TV this weekend Jared Cannonier breaks UFC record in win over Marvin Vettori Topuria vs Emmett and full UFC Fight Night card this weekend What time does Topuria vs Emmett start in UK and US this weekend?

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