United finally announced their decision on Greenwood's future on Monday, six months after starting an internal investigation into the striker after charges of sexual assault and domestic violence were dropped.
The club and Greenwood mutually agreed that it was best for the striker to continue his career away from Old Trafford after chief executive Richard Arnold made a U-turn on his previous call to reintegrate the striker into the squad following a huge backlash from fans, the general public and charities.
Ten Hag had reportedly been in favour of bringing Greenwood back into the squad, as had football director John Murtough. However, the manager batted away questions on Greenwood in his press conference before United's match at home to Nottingham Forest.
"Look, we are not where we want to be with our team, I have a lot of work and a lot of focus on my team, so I focus on the players who are available," Ten Hag told the press conference.
When specifically asked whether he wanted Greenwood to return to the squad, the manager said: "I only have statements about our performance, our squad, where we have to improve because it's clear, we have to improve. I have to put every effort in to get the team to perform."
Next Match
Female United supporters had held a protest before United's first game of the season against Wolves to demand that Greenwood did not return, while celebrity fan Rachel Riley said she would no longer be able to support the club if he had been reintroduced to the team. Surveys of fans also showed that a majority of supporters did not want Greenwood to play for United again.
Asked about the fans' opinion on Greenwood, Ten Hag said: "Once again, what Manchester United fans expect is a winning Manchester United and I'm responsible for that and I have to put all my effort and all my focus and make us play better than we do now."
United scraped a 1-0 win over Wolves in their opening game of the season before falling to a 2-0 defeat at Tottenham last Saturday.