Manchester United’s Ten Hag says he could have substituted his entire team vs. Brentford

It was that kind of day for Man Utd

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag said in the aftermath of a 4-0 debacle of a loss at Brentford, he could have made 11 substitutes at halftime if it were legal to do so.

“It is my responsibility to give an explanation. It is clear the performance was really poor. When you make mistakes like this, you can’t win the game,” Ten Hag told the BBC after his side gave up all four of the game’s goals before halftime.

“It was more to bring three fresh ones. You see, 4-0, it’s not possible (to come back),” said Ten Hag on a halftime triple substitution. “It’s the message… I could have changed all eight others as well.”

There was no holding back for anyone at Man Utd, with Ten Hag saying that while he wants to improve his squad with transfers, the players that are in place are also more than qualified to avoid being steamrolled.

“It is clear we need players but I don’t want to think about that in this moment. The good players we had should have been better,” said Ten Hag. “This team is good enough to beat Brighton and Brentford. which we didn’t do, so we have to question ourselves.”

“You have to take responsibility on the pitch as a team and as individuals, that’s what we didn’t do,” continued Ten Hag, whose start with Man Utd after an impressive spell with Ajax has the Red Devils at the very bottom of the Premier League table.

While Ten Hag was critical of his players, he did also hold his hand up. “Don’t get me wrong: The manager is responsible as well. He has the main responsibility and I take that. I will work on that.”

While David de Gea blamed himself for the result, Ten Hag said “he’s a great goalkeeper,” before acknowledging that it’s a clear mistake. For Ten Hag, though, the concern was more in Man Utd’s reaction to the goal.

“Still, that is what I mean. You have to stick to the plan, and move on. Mistakes, that’s part of football,” said Ten Hag. “You have to keep going, play as a team, and especially, act.”

Watch Ten Hag’s postgame comments

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