We were rewarded for our battle mentality: Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag after 1-0 win vs Southampton

United manager Erik ten Hag lauded the mentality of his team after their win by a slender margin.

Manchester United doubled their winning spree, beating Southampton by a slender 1-0 margin away from home on Saturday, 27 August. United looked like a different team after their victory over Liverpool at Old Trafford, as they seemed to be much more comfortable with possession and intensity.

Bruno Fernandes' second-half strike was the difference between the two sides as United went upto the sixth position in the Premier League table. United manager Erik ten Hag was all praises for his team and said that the team were rewarded for their batte mentality."At the start of the game we could have created more. It is the start of the season, it is tough. You have to battle and we did that today so we were rewarded," Ten Hag told reporters.

"I think the players learnt some lessons from Brentford. We were more compact on the long balls. Of course, we were really happy. The goal we created, we could have made more."

United failed to add a second and were sloppy in possession in the final half hour, with Southampton twice coming close to a deserved equaliser.

"We kept control straight after half time, moved it around and we created three really good chances straight after half time. I still feel there's room for improvement, to control more, but we are not that long in our way," added Ten Hag.

"You hope to have more control in the last 30 minutes of the game."

Asked about Cristiano Ronaldo's future at the club, Ten Hag said he was still part of his plans.