Erik ten Hag bemoans Man Utd squad strength despite spending €446million on new players

Jacque Talbot

9 Dec 2023 13:30 CST
3 min read

Erik ten Hag has blasted his Manchester United players after the side’s lacklustre display at Old Trafford that saw them lose 3-0.

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The Dutchman claimed that his men are not good enough to be consistent after a humbling by the Cherries - even though he has spent a huge €446million on 16 players during his tenure there.

Bournemouth secured their first-ever win away at Man Utd, making for the Red Devils’ 11 loss of the season in all competitions.

Players were booed off after a torrid performance, while Man Utd are now bracing themselves for Bayern Munich in their final Champions League group match on Tuesday before a trip to Liverpool for a Premier League clash.

What did Erik ten Hag say after the Bournemouth game?

After the game against Bournemouth, Ten Hag said via MEN: "Of course, annoyed, disappointed, definitely. I expected something different, I hoped before the game you can build on from the performance and result from Chelsea, so it's very disappointing, the way we started the game.

"Then I think a long time we did everything to get back in the game, we get one shot, almost a penalty, then in the build-up we make a mistake and we are not good enough in the rest of defence and that is disappointing.

"You're following facts, we put a lot of effort in to turn in the game, but then the brilliance, the movement in the box were not there to get the equaliser. After the 2-0, we broke down so we have to do things better.

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He continued: "The way we started is no good, that is poor. It's first five minutes of the game and especially against an opponent like today, very good transition team, you give them perfect circumstances, it shouldn't happen.

"But we did everything to turn in the game, we had a lot of attacks, we didn't come to a point to turn the game although we had opportunities.

"I think we have to always be ready for the game and so I have to take the responsibility for that, 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 and we have to be better.