Manchester United’s struggling stars have been ordered to call a team meeting to reveal their dismal performance.
The Red Devils were lucky to avoid a draw against Brentford on Saturday after being outclassed by the Bees for much of the game. The hosts had an impressive 86 touches and 34 shots inside United’s box.
United thought they had won comfortably thanks to Mason Mount’s 96th-minute goal. But minutes later, after a poor performance from United, Brentford equalized and took a point.
The draw left Erik ten Hag’s side 11 points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa, ending their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League.
Former United star Dion Dublin today called on his side at The Hague to hold a players-only meeting to find a way forward.
“I don’t know what it is. It has to come from within. I don’t think that’s a credit to the coach, and I don’t think it’s a credit to the technical staff. It comes from the players,” Dublin told Sky Sports after the Brentford draw.
“It all depends on the players in the locker room. If this happens, and we hate to do this, but in the locker rooms I played in, the players would get mad at each other and say, “Okay, Monday morning team meeting.” It will stop happening.
“There’s no coach, no staff, no players. And you can point your finger.
And you tell people. Bryan Robson did it by saying, “Not enough, not enough, not enough.” » This will never happen again. The players have to take responsibility, but they don’t do it. ”
United manager Ten Hag admitted his side’s performance on Saturday was not good enough. But he insisted this point could prove decisive in the battle to remain in Europe at the end of the season. Ten Hag said on Match of the Day:
“In the end we won, but maybe we didn’t deserve it, but after that we have to get three points, so it’s disappointing to draw.” Ta.
“Brentford were better than us today. They showed more passion, drive and determination than we did. The quality of this team is to fight for that, but we have to show more. I scored a goal, but it went off the line.
“We showed that against Liverpool and in many games and we have to show it on the pitch. We fought, but it was a small thing, like the second goal. Brentford were more focused and attacking, when it should have been the other way around.
“We should congratulate the team because we won, but then we lost, which is very disappointing. There are many games you can play. Enjoy this moment. As it turns out, this could be a very good thing.