Erik ten Hag admitted he felt sorry for Manchester United’s supporters after another dismal display against a second string Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup fourth round resulted in a 3-0 home defeat.
The Red Devils were humbled at Old Trafford for the second time in three days, with goals from Miguel Almiron, Lewis Hall and Joe Willock adding to Sunday’s miserable defeat at the hands of neighbourhood rivals Manchester City.
United were devoid of any creativity, despite Ten Hag picking a relatively strong starting 11, and it was no surprise that once Newcastle had taken the lead through early substitute Almiron that they were unable to get back into the game.
While 8,000 travelling Newcastle fans serenaded the team until the final whistle and beyond, thousands of home supporters left early – a picture that has become all too familiar for United this season.
Speaking to Sky Sports about United’s latest disaster, Ten Hag attempted to shoulder the blame for what went wrong, but insisted that his group of players were sticking together to try and overcome this bad run of form.
“We know this is not good enough. We have to take responsibility for it, I have to take responsibility for it,” Ten Hag said. “We don’t give the performance, so I feel sorry for the fans. It is below our standards and we have to put it right.
“We have to recover from it but we have to quickly recover – Saturday is the next game (against Fulham), and we have to raise our standards. This is not good enough.
Asked if his players were capable of turning things around, Ten Hag continued: “Players will stand up, they are sticking together – you have seen, they have tried. But we know this is not good enough, and as I said, I’m responsible for this, and we have to do this together.
“You have to be disciplined and you have to do it with togetherness, everyone has to take responsibility, be accountable and co-operate. That’s the key word.”
Manchester United’s performance may have been woeful, but for Eddie Howe and Newcastle everything came together to avenge last season’s loss in the Carabao Cup final.
Nine changes were made to the Magpies side that drew 2-2 with Wolves at Molineux on Saturday, with injuries to key personnel meaning no recognised striker was on the pitch for the first whistle. There was also a return after an absence of 14 months for defender Emil Krafth.
But you wouldn’t have known there was disruption in the visitors’ camp, as Newcastle picked United apart to claim just a second win in their last 42 games at Old Trafford in all competitions.
“It was a very good performance from us. The mentality was brilliant,” Howe said of the display. “We had injuries and picked one up early. It was a great response. I don’t think there are any easy games in the quarter-finals. We hope to go one better than last season.
“We return to the Premier League with Arsenal. I know we have a tough schedule ahead and we look forward to it.”
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