Ten Hag vows to take responsibility as Man Utd humbled by Bournemouth
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has pointed the finger of blame at himself after watching his side whimper to a 3-0 home defeat against Bournemouth on Saturday. The Red Devils have suffered a miserable campaign during the Dutchman ‘s second season at the helm and have already lost seven top-flight matches.
United fell behind just five minutes into the encounter as Dominic Solanke turned in Lewis Cook’s cross. And the hosts struggled to break down the visitors as they were second best for much of the afternoon. Bournemouth eventually doubled their advantage midway through the second half as Philip Billing headed in from close range, before Marcos Senesi killed the game off courtesy of another header five minutes later.
“I think we have to always be ready for the game, and so I have to take the responsibility for that”, Ten Hag said after the showdown. “I have to prepare the team so they are ready for the game.
“From my point of view, I’m very disappointed the way we started. Annoyed, definitely. I expected something different. I hoped before the game that we could build on the performance and result from Chelsea, so it’s very disappointing.
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“We are really inconsistent. We have the abilities to do it, but you have to do it every game and every third day. As a group, we have to improve and get tougher. We have to be ready for the game from the start. In this league, if you are not playing on the highest levels, you get killed.
“You have to start right and [be] 100 per cent focused. It can’t happen that the opponent is more eager than you are. You can’t make such mistakes at this level, opponents will take benefit from it. You can’t switch off and that’s what happened. We have to work on that if we want to be successful. If you want to reach the targets you’ve set, you have to be consistent.”
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United’s latest defeat means they have only won nine of their 16 matches this season. And they are 10 points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool.
At the final whistle, Red Devils supporters booed the performance they had witnessed. And Ten Hag added: “I understand the fans’ disappointment and frustration. We are as well because we should do better. We have to show it every game and not with such big difference in levels.”
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