United View: The kids Are Alright, Ten Hag's First Interview And United’s Final Game.

There was no Premier League action for Manchester United, giving fans a weekend off following the embarrassing defeat to Brighton.

However, there was still football being played at Old Trafford, facing off against Nottingham Forrest U18s in the FA Youth Cup final.

Over 67,000 were in attendance to watch United win 3-1 and claim the trophy that they haven’t won since 2011, making it the 11^th time they have won the competition. The young Reds will be looking to follow in the footsteps of the likes of David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and Jesse Lingard in carving out regular football for Manchester United.

Spirits were high throughout the tie with almost non-stop chanting from the crowd, which the players responded to fantastically, trying to stir up the home support at any given opportunity. There was a real sense of unison amongst the fans and players, spearing on the youth and having something to cheer about for a change.

Captain Rhys Bennett had a solid game and opened the scoring with an early header before Forrest grabbed an equaliser following a mistake from goalkeeper Radek Vitek. Despite the goal, the fans responded with a cheer of encouragement, hoping to conquer any notion of stage fright. And United were able to find breathing room in the second half thanks to a brace from Alejandro Garnacho, a nice return for a player who won the Jimmy Murphy U18s player of the year on the same day.

Bennett and Garnacho were the obvious standouts but in truth every player involved did themselves proud, even if they don’t go on to play for the first team, I’m confident many involved will carve out successful careers in the game. And not only that but they provided a much-needed boost in morale, celebrating a team who played with heart and desire. Hopefully the first team squad can learn a thing or two from these young lads.

On top of this positive result, Erik Ten Hag spoke openly for the first time about his impending arrival at Manchester United, and right now he’s saying all the things that the fans will be excited to hear. Claiming that lots of work needs to take place in preparation for the new season involving the implementation of new players and staff, and that he had other clubs as options with ‘better foundations’ but that he sees United as a challenge to rebuild a club with great history and alure.

Ten Hag speaks very well, coming across as ambitious and assertive, something that is an encouraging sign for the United faithful. He also expressed his desire for Cristiano Ronaldo to stay, a positive in my eyes as Ronaldo will undoubtedly have some scores to settle next season.

Of course, speaking well doesn’t guarantee success, something which Ralf Rangnick is currently experiencing as interim manager. However, I can’t lie I’ve been seriously impressed and fully onboard to back the Dutchman as he still has plenty to prove in the English game.

But before his arrival, United still have one game left to play in a nightmare season. A trip away to Crystal Palace, a game that I think we will lose to be brutally honest. Palace have been a tough team to beat all season, even managing to pick up four points against Manchester City along the way. Despite us beating them in the reverse fixture, which was also Rangnick’s debut match, I think Selhurst Park will be a significantly tougher test and realistically other than trying to secure a Europa League place, United have little to play for.

Thankfully it's almost over and the relief I feel to the end of the season is immeasurable, it’s like the light at the end of a dark, damp and seemingly never-ending tunnel. Let’s just hope that United go out with a bang rather than a whimper.