Erik ten Hag has admitted his Manchester United players are struggling to deal with setbacks during games after they suffered another dismal defeat to Sevilla.
United have lost just nine times under Ten Hag this season, but six of those have been by more than one goal and several have seen the team collapse during a match. They have been beaten 4-0 at Brentford, 6-3 at Manchester City, 3-1 at Aston Villa, 7-0 at Liverpool and now 3-0 at Sevilla and their ability to withstand setbacks during games is an area for improvement.
United have generally responded well when they have been beaten this season, but Ten Hag knows there is a weakness to fix during games when they suffer a knock. They conceded a soft opening goal in Seville on Thursday night and never recovered to look like they could still progress to the Europa League semi-finals.
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"We can’t deny it, it’s mental, definitely, we have to learn that you keep going, you carry on," Ten Hag said of the FA Cup semi-final against Brighton.
"This team, what they can do very well is bounce back in between games, what they can do less is bounce back during a game to a setback. That is what we have to improve."
Ten Hag has slammed his team's performance in some recent defeats. He labelled the performance against Sevilla as unacceptable and used similar language after the defeats to Liverpool and at Newcastle, when United were second best throughout their 2-0 loss.
"You have to acknowledge, it’s the truth, we have to do better, I know that, I have to teach the players to do better in such circumstances," he said.
"We [have to] deal better with such expectations, the demands on this team, we are Manchester United, they are high, we have to improve it, I have to reach the players and they have to step up."
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