Manchester United coach Erik ten Hag says they must take a “huge step forward” for today’s Emirates FA Cup semifinal against Brighton & Hove Albion, after a “bad day” in Seville on Thursday.
The off-colour Reds were well beaten at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium, losing 3-0 on the night (5-2 on aggregate) and exiting the Europa League at the quarter-final stage.
Ten Hag admits the performance was one which just cannot fly and that his side need to show greater character and composure if they are to have a successful end to the season.
“I already started [trying] but we have to pick them up, but also we have to face that we let ourselves down and we let the fans down. If you want to win trophies, if you want to be successful, you need all of the character,” Ten Hag said after Thursday’s loss.
The setback in Seville was their fourth defeat on the road in nine games, a run of form which clashes with the exemplary home record at Old Trafford, where they haven’t lost since September.
Ten Hag cited last Sunday’s successful visit to The City Ground, where they beat Nottingham Forest 2-0, as an example of how United should play away from home.
“We showed we can do it, we have seen against Forest. You can expect from a player at Manchester United, from a team like Manchester United, that they do it consistently.
“Now isn’t too often [it happens] but, we have a really poor performance and it can’t be.”
A contest with the high-flying Seagulls is next up, then, and the boss is clear on what his players need to do ahead of today’s encounter. “Yeah, I think it will be easy [to recover], I think everyone as a footballer has had a bad day and the next day will change,” Ten Hag said.
“It’s really just the mentality has to change, we know it’s going to be a completely different opponent, a completely different style.
“We know that [it is a huge game] and that is what we just told [the players] in the dressing room,” he added. – ManUtd.com
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