Ten Hag: Man United players can talk to me about poor form

Erik ten Hag admitted “one or two” of his players approached him with suggestions on how to improve Manchester United's form, but said his side were heading in the right direction despite a 10th defeat of the season against Newcastle.

United were beaten 1-0 at St James' Park on Saturday and slipped to seventh in the Premier League. They face Chelsea at Old Trafford on Wednesday and Bournemouth at home on Saturday before a decisive Champions League clash against Bayern Munich next week.

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“I always listen to my players and I always give them the opportunity to express themselves. If the players have a different opinion, of course I will listen to them,” Ten Hag said at a press conference on Tuesday.

“But they didn't tell me. Or maybe one or two. But it's usually the majority, they want to play like that – proactive, dynamic, courageous, that's what they want .

“You can see the players are behind it from the performances against Everton and Galatasaray. You see we are really improving.”

United finished third and won the Carabao Cup in a positive first season under Ten Hag, but the new campaign started with 10 defeats in 21 matches in all competitions.

They are already nine points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal and sit bottom of their Champions League group and on the brink of elimination.

Despite all that, Ten Hag said his team is improving.

“We know we are still in transition but we are in the right direction,” he added.

“You see how we build a team, develop it, the team progresses, how young players come in and you see the potential and how they can contribute to the success of Manchester United for the future.”

After the defeat at Newcastle, United players, particularly Marcus Rashford, were criticized for their lack of effort.

Rashford was seen dropping back as Newcastle attacked before being substituted in the 61st minute.

“We are not robots,” Ten Hag said. “If you play three games in six days, difficult games, and yes, at the end, fatigue can be a problem. It can never be an excuse, but it is there. Against Galatasaray, against Everton, we very good game.

“Against Newcastle we were not happy with our performance. We are the first to say it, the players are the first, they are so self-critical, they admit it. We know it. We have to do better than that. “