Erik ten Hag did not hold back as he criticized his “inconsistent” Manchester United charges following Bournemouth’s historic 3-0 victory at Old Trafford on Saturday.
United’s embarrassing defeat underscored the array of problems jeopardizing their season, especially after a brief respite with a win against Chelsea just three days prior. The team’s regression to the sloppy form that has plagued them throughout the campaign was evident in the loss to Bournemouth.
Goals from Dominic Solanke, Philip Billing, and Marcos Senesi secured a memorable win for Bournemouth, prompting boos for Ten Hag and his players at full-time.
With each defeat adding to the pressure during his troubled second season as United boss, Ten Hag openly criticized his team’s lackluster performance.
“Of course, annoyed and disappointed, definitely. I expected something different,” Ten Hag said.
“I hoped before the game you can build on the performance and result from Chelsea, so then it’s very disappointing.
“That (consistency) is of course the question, but I think we have to always be ready for the game, so I have to take the responsibility for that.
“I have to prepare my team so that they are ready for the game, so from my point of view I’m very disappointed the way we started so I have to do the things better.”
The defeat marked a significant statistic for United, as they have now lost 35 home league games since the legendary Alex Ferguson retired at the end of the 2012-13 title-winning season. During Ferguson’s iconic 26-year reign, United had only been beaten in the league at Old Trafford 34 times.
Ten Hag took much of the responsibility for United’s 11th defeat in all competitions this term. In a concerning revelation for United fans, the former Ajax boss admitted that he did not believe his squad was consistent enough to thrive at the highest level.
“We are really inconsistent. We have the abilities to do it, but you have to do it every game and every third day,” he said before adding: “I think as a squad we are not good enough to be consistent and we have to work as a squad to improve that.”
“As a group, we have to improve. “That’s a fact. We have to get tougher, that we are ready for the game and from the start. I said on Friday, it can’t be in this league that you are not playing on the highest levels because you get killed.
“That’s what happened in the five minutes and then you are following facts and especially against them, such a good transition team, you make life easy for them. They have the perfect conditions to play in.
“Then you see the team fighting, battling, put a lot of effort in for a long period to return in the game, but it can’t happen that you so easily concede a goal.”
United will host Bayern Munich in the Champions League next week knowing they must win to have any chance of progressing to the last 16. A trip to in-form Liverpool in the Premier League follows the Bayern clash.
