Under-pressure Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag had a long conversation with Wrexham coach Phil Parkinson as they collected awards on Sunday.
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Managers exchange views at awards ceremonyTen Hag eased pressure with Brenford winParkinson chasing third-successive promotionFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Ten Hag picked up a prize at the Football Writers Association (FWA) Northern Managers Awards for leading United to win the FA Cup over arch rivals Manchester City last season. Parkinson was also honoured at the dinner for inspiring Wrexham to League One, the Red Dragons' second-successive promotion.
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Ten Hag, who enjoyed a much-needed win over Brentford the day before the awards ceremony, was seated next to Parkinson, who was also celebrating after Paul Mullin had fired his side to a 1-0 win at Rotherham. And the two managers were seen deep in conversation throughout the dinner.
WHAT TEN HAG SAID
"I can say as I have some experience, it's not so easy to win titles, all the levels in English football are very competitive, to win a title demands huge sacrifice, sacrifice with your family but also sacrifice to get the team doing what you want," Ten Hag said in his speech. "You don't do this alone. You need good players, without good players, any manager is poor. Players can't do it without coaching so thanks also to my coaches, we did an incredible job to win this FA Cup."
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Pep Guardiola also won a prize for retaining the Premier League title with Manchester City although the Catalan was unable to attend the ceremony, as his side were in action against Wolves. Guardiola gave an acceptance speech via video. Jurgen Klopp was honoured for leading Liverpool to win the Carabao Cup in his final season, but he was also not in attendance.