Manchester United’s humbling 7-0 defeat to Liverpool at Old Trafford on Sunday was an eye-opening reminder to Erik ten Hag and his players of the size of the task ahead of them to restore the glory days at the club.
Ten Hag, who was appointed in the summer, has made steady improvements since his arrival, with the club winning their first trophy in six years last week. But Sunday’s mauling, Manchester United’s biggest ever home defeat in the Premier League, was a sobering reality check of the scale of the job in hand.
The Dutchman has remained defiant in the face of the embarrassing defeat, however, and has urged his players to use it as a motivator to bounce back this week.
“We have to learn from this defeat,” Ten Hag said. “We have to analyse what went wrong and use it to our advantage. We have to use it as a motivation to come back stronger, to work harder and to make sure we don’t make the same mistakes again.”
The manager has also called on the fans to remain patient and to trust in his methods, vowing that the team will not give up despite the setback.
“I know that this result was not what the fans wanted, but I can assure them that we will not give up and we will not stop fighting. We will keep working hard and we will keep believing in our vision for this club.”
It remains to be seen how Manchester United will respond to the defeat, but with the club still in contention for a top-four finish, Ten Hag will be hoping his side can put the result behind them and focus on the upcoming games.
