LONDON – Erik ten Hag took responsibility for Manchester United’s miserable showing in a 4-0 English Premier League thrashing by Crystal Palace on May 6, but insisted he is still the right man to turn the club’s fortunes around.
Palace completed their first league double over United in style as Michael Olise scored twice, while Jean-Philippe Mateta and Tyrick Mitchell were also on target for the in-form Eagles.
Defeat left ten Hag’s men eighth and at risk of their worst Premier League finish and missing out on European competition next season.
The Dutchman’s future is in doubt with structural change ongoing at Old Trafford since British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe bought a minority stake and took sporting control of the club earlier in 2024.
“It’s clear and it’s obvious this is underperforming,” said ten Hag.
“We didn’t act how we want to do it and this is by far not good enough.”
However, his options were again limited by a mounting injury list.
Captain Bruno Fernandes missed a club game through injury for the first time in his career, while England internationals Marcus Rashford and Harry Maguire were also absent.
The makeshift centre-back pairing of Casemiro and Jonny Evans were torn apart by Palace’s pace and invention.
“Absolutely,” added ten Hag on whether he believes he is the right man to lead United forward.
“If we have the right players available, we have a good squad. But we miss almost the whole backline and then we have problems.
“I will keep fighting and I prepared the team in the best way I could. It was not good enough, by far not good enough, so I have to take the responsibility for that. But I will find the energy and I will prepare them for Sunday.”
The manager also refused to lay the blame on Casemiro alone for the poor defensive display.
“You can’t put it on one player, it is a team performance. We did not adapt to the different situations,” he said.
Things could get worse for ten Hag when title-chasing Arsenal visit Old Trafford on May 12.
The Red Devils already have a club record number of losses (13) in a Premier League season and have faced their most shots (618) in a single campaign.
This season they have conceded 81 goals in all competitions, the club’s worst tally since 1976-77.
United have never failed to finish in the top seven in the Premier League era and must do so or beat Manchester City in the FA Cup final to qualify for Europe.
The embarrassing scoreline at Selhurst Park is not unprecedented during ten Hag’s reign. United lost 4-0 to Brentford, 7-0 to Liverpool and 6-3 to Manchester City during his first season in charge.
After disappointing early exits from the Champions League and League Cup, an FA Cup run has offered ten Hag at least some relief.
But they booked their place in a second consecutive final only by surviving a penalty shoot-out against second-tier Coventry after blowing a 3-0 lead to draw 3-3.
“That was tough to watch. That could have been 7-0,” said former United midfielder Paul Scholes of the team’s display at Palace.
AFP, REUTERS
