Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag admitted that his side were “not good enough” as Newcastle United eliminated them from the League Cup on Wednesday.
When these two sides met in the 2023 final, it was the Red Devils who looked a class apart as they lifted the trophy at Wembley, but on this occasion the Magpies were the superior outfit – and it showed on the scoreboard.
Goals from Miguel Almiron, Lewis Hall and Joe Willock secured their passage to the quarter-finals, thumping Man United 3-0 in front of their own fans – just three days after Manchester City won by the same scoreline at Old Trafford.
“We know it’s not good enough. We have to take responsibility for it. I have to take responsibility for it,” Ten Hag told Sky Sports after the game.
“I have to say sorry to the fans as it was below our standards and we have to put it right.
“We have to recover from it and we have to do it quickly. Saturday is the next game [against Fulham] and we have to raise our standards. This is not good enough.
“We have [enough quality], the players will stand up. They are sticking together. You have seen they tried but we know this is not good enough, I am responsible for this and we have to do this together.
“To get your confidence, first you have to play and you get confidence when you get the right result. It’s only possible when you’re following the rules, the principles, winning your battles and bringing the fight.
“You have to do this as a team. The only way is to stick together, but you have to be disciplined, everyone has to co-operate and be accountable.
“We still sleep on this, then pick the team and the tactics. The most important thing is to put our mentality right.”
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