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Erik ten Hag admits Man United lacked ‘attitude and team spirit’ after losing their first two games of the season but hails his side for ‘adapting and finding a way to win’ to seal second straight victory against Southampton
- Manchester United beat Southampton in the early Saturday lunchtime fixture
- Bruno Fernandes’ goal ensured United backed up their win over Liverpool
- Erik ten Hag his players adapted well to find a way to win the game on Saturday
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Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has admitted his side suffered from a lack of ‘attitude and team spirit’ in their opening two fixtures.
Ten Hag watched his side fall to defeats to Brighton and Brentford in his first two games with many pundits and supporters questioning the mental fortitude and commitment of the United players.
Since then, United have beaten Liverpool at home before ending their abysmal run of form away from home in beating Southampton.
Erik ten Hag has said that his side lacked attitude and team spirit in their first two games
Speaking after Saturday’s 1-0 win over Southampton, Ten Hag admitted to there having been an issue with the squad’s attitude. The back-to-back wins suggest such problems could be behind them, however.
‘You have to adapt and find a certain way to win games and that is what we did today,’ Ten Hag said.
‘That was the problem, especially in the second game. When you don’t give everything and you don’t have the attitude for 100 per cent and you don’t have right team spirit, you don’t have to talk about philosophy or game plan or whatever.
The Dutchman picked out the Brentford game as being a particularly bad example of his players lacking what it takes to win Premier League matches
Ten Hag praised the increase in application and attitude from his players following their two defeats in their first two games
‘First it has to be a team and spirit and 100 per cent commitment.’
Meanwhile, Ten Hag left the door ajar for Cristiano Ronaldo to depart the club this summer admitting that he couldn’t say for certain whether or not he would be at the club beyond September 1.
‘I can’t say that [Ronaldo will stay]. We will be alert until the last second in the transfer market,’ he said.
Erik ten Hag admitted he could not say for certain whether or not Cristiano Ronaldo would stay
The Dutchman also said that he couldn’t say for certain whether or not United would dip back into the market for a forward.
The club are currently engaged in a very high profile pursuit of Ajax forward Antony who has made a very public showing of his desire to depart the Dutch club.
‘I cannot say that [whether United will be active before the deadline]’ Ten Hag said.
‘If there are players available, then we will strike.’