- Manchester United suffered a 1-0 defeat in their opening pre-season fixture
- Erik ten Hag was without a several players due to international commitments
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Erik ten Hag has been left fuming with his Manchester United players following a pre-season defeat to Rosenborg, warning his young stars they were nowhere near the standards he demands.
United lost 1-0 with what was almost the very last kick of the game in what was a deserved defeat for a very young United side in Norway.
While many of the first team regulars remain on holiday following their participation at Euro 2024, there was still outings for Mason Mount, Marcus Rashford and Casemiro, but this was a team performance that irked the manager.
‘The result is not secondary and of course we play pre-season but at Man United there is a standard you win games, definitely not lose games,’ he told MUTV.
‘If you can’t win games, don’t lose like we did in the end, the last second of the game. Of course the performance is more important and the performance was below standard.’
Pressed on his standards and how far away this young group were in the end, Ten Hag did not mince his words.
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‘We can talk everything good about what is bad but I am not that guy,’ he added.
‘This is not the standard for top football. Top football you have to achieve much higher standards and it starts with every individual making sure you’re fit.
‘I know you can’t be match fit in this moment and you need these games. I know we play against an opponent in their league who have a much higher fitness level but still.
‘We are Man United and players from Man United, a team from Man United, should perform much better.’
More of United’s first team regulars got minutes in the first half, with Casemiro on the end of a nasty challenge which many felt should have been a red card.
Mount was deployed in a deeper role alongside the Brazilian, while Aaron Wan-Bissaka started at right back and Marcus Rashford started on the left wing.
But United, in their opening pre-season game, looked short on fitness and short of ideas.
Young goalkeeper Radek Vitek made a number of impressive stops, although Ten Hag felt his team-mates did not offer much resistance.
‘He got the opportunity from the team to make some very good saves because our performance as a team was by far not good enough,’ the Dutchman said.
New coaching arrivals Ruud van Nistelrooy and Rene Hake were in the dugout alongside Ten Hag and the United boss was asked about what Van Nistelrooy, who was seen in deep discussions with a few players in Norway, can bring.
‘He’s a very ambitious manager, has a great skill-set as a manager so he will help the team,’ Ten Hag said.
‘He will help the individual players but definitely help the team as the whole team functions on attacking wise and pressing wise.’
United are next in action on Saturday in Scotland when they take on Rangers, ahead of their pre-season tour of the United States.