Manchester United Are Not Good Enough Says Erik Ten Hag

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has admitted his side’s performances have fallen below the standards he expects.

“It is not good enough,” the Dutchman said after United had lost 3-0 to Newcastle United to be knocked out of the Carabao Cup at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.

“We know that. We were in the game and in a couple of minutes we gave the game away. That’s below our standards and we know that. We have to take responsibility for this.”

This was the second time in four days United had lost 3-0 at Old Trafford, after they had suffered the same result against Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday.

Over the course of the season United have now lost eight of their first 15 games in all competitions, their worst start to a season for 61 years since the 1962-63 season.

A shocked Ten Hag had few answers to explain his side’s appalling form this season, but acknowledged his players’ confidence was low. “You only get your confidence when you take responsibility and you fight and you are winning and dictating the crowd,” he said.

“When you do that, you get results and from there you build your own confidence. Confidence is something that is in your own hands and that is individual but of course you have to do it as a team. You have to stick together.”

“You have to stick together but you have to be disciplined and you have to do it. And have togetherness. Everyone has to take responsibility, be accountable and cooperate – that’s the key word.”

Ten Hag made seven changes to take on Newcastle from the side that had faced City four days earlier, but it made little difference, and once again his players delivered an alarmingly insipid display.

“You hope that the players prove themselves but we are in this together.” Ten Hag said. “Don’t point to one individual. It’s about us. We have had good times. Now we have very bad times, but we do it together. We win together and now we are losing together.”

United’s chronically poor performances have raised questions about what the players do in training, and whether that provides any clues. “When we train, we always train very good,” Ten Hag said. “But you have to do it in the games. In the games, our level has been below standards and we have to put that right.”

There were boos of disapproval at the final whistle against Newcastle, but Ten Hag still retains the backing of most United fans.

“Thank you that you are behind us,” he said, in a message to the United fans. “In these difficult moments, you are still behind us. We don’t deserve it in this moment because we are not giving top performances. We are trying. But trying is not good enough in top football. We know that. We have to do things better and we have to raise our standards.”