Under-pressure Erik ten Hag admits he feels sorry for Man Utd fans after worst start in 61 years and it could get worse
ERIK TEN HAG has admitted he feels sorry for Manchester United fans after their latest defeat.
The Red Devils have made their worst start in 61 years, which continued as they were beaten 3-0 by Newcastle at Old Trafford.
Goals from Miguel Almiron, Lewis Hall and Joe Willock dumped United out of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.
Fans and pundits slammed the home side’s performance, with Gary Neville calling out players for “sleeping” before one of the visitors’ goals.
Meanwhile, Mason Mount was slaughtered on social media as he endured another difficult night for his new club.
Ten Hag’s side have now lost eight of their first 15 matches this season, a feat they last suffered in the 1962/63 campaign.
Those defeats include five from 10 home matches for the first time since 1930/31.
The Newcastle loss follows Sunday’s embarrassing Manchester derby defeat, with United losing consecutive home games by three or more goals for the first time since October 1962.
As for the Magpies, it was their biggest win at Old Trafford since a 7-4 triumph in September 1930.
Speaking after the match, Ten Hag told Sky Sports: “We know it’s not good enough. We have to take responsibility for it. I have to take responsibility for it.
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“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.”
It could get worse for the under pressure United boss, though, with five of their next six matches in all competitions coming away from home.
His side will look to bounce back away to Fulham on Saturday before a trip to Denmark to play Copenhagen in the Champions League.
The visit of Luton on November 11 is then followed by away games against Everton, Galatasaray and Newcastle.
Ten Hag continued: “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.”