Manchester United’s manager Erik Ten Hag has acknowledged that his team is facing a “mental” challenge as they attempt to bounce back from their recent defeat to Sevilla.
After leading 2-0 at home, United suffered two calamitous own-goals and lost the second leg 3-0 to crash out of the Europa League quarter-finals.
In a press conference ahead of their FA Cup semi-final clash with Brighton, Ten Hag admitted that his players struggled to cope with setbacks during games and need to improve their defensive performance.
“We can’t deny it, it’s mental, definitely,” he said. “We have to learn that you keep going, you carry on, 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.”
Despite winning the Carabao Cup and being on course for a Champions League finish, Ten Hag is still haunted by their 7-0 defeat to Liverpool in March.
The Dutchman called on his team to do better defensively and meet the high expectations of the club. “You have to acknowledge, it’s the truth, we have to do better,”
he added. “I know that, I have to reach the players to do better in such circumstances, we 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.”
Despite their recent disappointment in Europe, Manchester United is still in contention for the FA Cup. They will face Brighton in the semi-finals at Wembley.