Erik ten Hag grateful for incredible support from United fans at Selhurst Park

Some media outlets picked up on the fact Ten Hag did not go over to the away end, not that it is something I have ever noticed him do. That is not to say I think he’s right not to…

The players went over to the away end to show their appreciation. It was the least they could do after another shocking performance.

Ten Hag still went out of his way after the match to acknowledge the support, with fans having long trips back to Manchester in the early hours of the morning.

Speaking about the fans in his post-match interviews, Ten Hag said (via ManUtd.com): “It is clear and it is obvious, this is underperforming. We didn’t act how we want to do it and it’s by far not good enough. We are very disappointed, but the fans were always behind us and we keep fighting, like the fans did. I was really grateful [to the fans]. They back us. They see also we have our problems. You have to stick together. You have to take responsibility. The fans gave us such huge and tremendous support.”

Ten Hag added that the team should have performed better on the night: “As Manchester United, we should perform better. The players who were available should do better. It’s a deserved defeat. The performance wasn’t what we expected. There are always reasons [why we are not good enough]. Everyone can see our backline, there we have huge problems but, at the end of the day, we have to deal with it. We should have done better than we did.”

The manager has urged his players to keep fighting with an FA Cup final to play later this month.

“You know that [how damaging the result is], especially when you come to the end. But still, we have nine points to play [for] and we have to fight for the nine points. We have to put it right on Sunday. We have to learn from this game and improve.”