The situation has gone from bad to worse for Manchester United tonight after the Red Devils slumped to a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Brentford during their away day in the capital, prompting several players to apologize directly to the away fans remaining at the ground after full time.
Thomas Frank’s Bees read United the riot act across a ninety minutes performance that left the home support in a feel-good mood as they left Brentford Community Stadium but has left the United fanbase in a virtual uproar.
In quotes from Sky Sports via UtdReport, Erik ten Hag willingly bore the brunt of the heavy criticism this evening during his post-match press conference, with the Dutch tactician not only shouldering the blame but admitting that the side must change their fortunes quickly despite the new regime barely getting off the ground at Old Trafford.
Erik ten Hag: “I asked them [the players] to play with belief and take responsibility, that is what they didn’t do.” #mulive [sky]
— utdreport (@utdreport) August 13, 2022
“Difficult for me and a surprise. The team has to take responsibility and I feel sorry for the fans, we let them down. Only when we stick together we will overcome it — don’t get me wrong, the manager is the main responsibility and I take that but I have to give them belief and they have to get it by themselves.”
“That is fair [that Brentford was hungrier than United]. It is not possible. That is when I talk about responsibility. Switch on from the first whistle and be ready for a battle. Making such mistakes, you cannot make them at our level — they were really disappointed but you have to keep going because there is a lot of time to play.”
Erik ten Hag: “It’s rubbish, it’s poor. We need higher standards than that, that’s clear.” #mulive [@beINSPORTS_EN] pic.twitter.com/f8CvPwNbzZ
— utdreport (@utdreport) August 13, 2022
Ten Hag also admitted that mistakes – particularly from first-choice keeper David De Gea – had certainly cost the Red Devils at the back while contributing to no less than two goals for Brentford on the night, with a change in performance being of the utmost importance while hinting that the club must bring in further reinforcements of quality to arrest their disastrous start to the season.
“We are as a team in a difficult process and you expect a different start. It seems like what happens in the past last season, we bring to this season. We have to change that quickly. We need new players and quality players. We will try and convince them to join.”
