Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag was highly critical of his players after his side were beaten 1-0 in a pre-season friendly by Norwegian outfit Rosenborg. The game was 0-0 heading into stoppage time before Noah Holm found the net with seconds remaining to secure victory for the hosts in Trondheim. United face Rangers next on July 20 as their pre-season continues.
Erik ten Hag delivered a scathing assessment of his Manchester United side after they were beaten 1-0 by Rosenborg in a pre-season game in Norway on Monday.
The game looked set to finish goalless until Noah Holm scored in the third minute of stoppage time at the end of the second half to seal a famous victory for Rosenborg.
United’s starting XI had a youthful look to it but featured regular first-team players Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Jonny Evans, Casemiro, Mason Mount and Marcus Rashford.
Ten Hag, who recently signed a one-year contract extension to keep him at the club until the end of the 2025/26 season, acknowledged his players are short of match fitness but said the performance fell below what he expects.
“We can talk and make good on everything that was bad, but I am not that guy,” Ten Hag told MUTV. “I have seen that this is not the standard for top football.
“In top football we have much higher standards, as an individual you must make sure you are fit. I know you cannot be match fit in this moment, so we need these games to get there.
“I know we are playing against players who are already going in their league, they have a much higher fitness level but still we are Man United and players from Man United should perform better.”
Ethan Wheatley and Ethan Ennis went close for United and Ten Hag – while praising the attitude displayed by his young players on the training pitch – lamented how they were unable to recreate it in a match environment.
“That is what I am used to at United and this is the case, they are looking to listen and they want to transfer that [to the pitch],” Ten Hag said.
“It didn’t work today but the attitude once you transfer, in the coaching they are always listening but it was also clear today that they didn’t transfer it to the pitch.”
Ten Hag’s side finished eighth in the Premier League last season with 14 defeats on their record, and he wants his players to get into a mindset of not losing games.
“The result is not secondary,” he said. “But of course we play in pre-season, but at Manchester United the standard has to be winning games and definitely not to lose games.
“If you can’t win don’t lose the games but we did in the end, in the last seconds of the game. Of course the performance is more important but we know the performance was below [the] standard.”
United face Scottish side Rangers at Murrayfield in their next pre-season outing on July 20.
Source: Eurosport
