Man Utd must use 'madness' as motivation - Ten Hag

Erik ten Hag won six trophies in charge of Ajax between 2017 and 2022

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has called on his players to use their "madness" as motivation as they seek to kick-start their season.

Following Sunday's demoralising 3-0 loss against Tottenham, a number of senior sources at United have told BBC Sport that it is business as usual as Ten Hag prepares for key games against Porto and Aston Villa.

The defeat by Spurs was United's third in six league games, leaving them in 13th, but Ten Hag told Sky Sports on Monday he believes there is "nothing for me to panic about" and remains confident the season can be a "success".

"As always when we are not winning, we are very disappointed and we are also mad, mad with ourselves and especially when you lose a game like Sunday," Ten Hag said at Wednesday's delayed news conference, after bad weather caused the team's flight to land late in Portugal.

"We are mad and from the madness we have to get motivation and go on to the next game."

United have won just three of their nine fixtures across all competitions this season, beating Fulham and Southampton in the league and League One Barnsley in the EFL Cup.

Ten Hag's team are winless in three games before facing Porto in the Europa League, having been held to a draw by Twente at Old Trafford in their opening match in the competition last week.

"Everyone has to take responsibility and that starts with me as the manager," said Ten Hag.

"But on the pitch we have leadership skills and they have to stand up. Every game for us is important and every opponent is 100% motivated. We have to be ready to compete and fight."

Ten Hag led the Red Devils to a third place in the Premier League during his maiden campaign in 2022-23, while they also lifted the EFL Cup and were runners-up in the FA Cup.

Last season, United came eighth - their lowest-ever Premier League finish - but signed off in style by beating Manchester City to win the FA Cup.

The Dutchman was subsequently rewarded with a new contract, which runs until 2026, over the summer and last month club chief executive Omar Berrada said he had the club's full backing.

Ten Hag said he and his staff "talk every day" with the club's new football hierarchy but added speaking to the club's new sporting director Dan Ashworth is "not necessary to give me confidence".

"We are a union and we made that commitment in the summer. We refreshed the staff and I appointed my assistants, I appointed the staff. I did this. We refreshed the squad as well," Ten Hag said.

"We talk every day about how we can improve this club, this team, improve the processes, the procedures, the connections. That is what we talk about."

United take on Porto in the Europa League on Thursday (20:00 BST) and travel to face Villa in the Premier League on Sunday, before the October international break.

'The team have great belief in the plan'

After ending last season on a positive, Ten Hag was backed in the transfer market over the summer, with Joshua Zirkzee, Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui and Manuel Ugarte all added to the squad.

But performances since have been well below par. United have scored five times in their opening six games - only in 2007-08 have they scored fewer at this stage of the season.

They have also lost consecutive Premier League matches without scoring at Old Trafford for the first time since November 2021, in what were Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's last two home fixtures in charge before he was sacked.

"We replaced six or seven older players with many young players, like Zirkzee and Yoro," said Ten Hag.

"They need time to get used to the standards of the Premier League, the standards of a club as United, especially, we have to fit them in our game model and in the standards of the league they are playing in."

He added: "I have seen so many games where we are completely confident. City in the FA Cup and Community Shield, you see the team have such a great belief in the plan and in each other."

Ten Hag 'lacks fire and passion'

There was also movement in the coaching staff during the off-season, with former Red Devils striker Ruud van Nistelrooy and Rene Hake joining to replace Steve McClaren, Benni McCarthy and Mitchell van der Gaag.

Former Blackburn striker McCarthy worked under Ten Hag for two years at Old Trafford before departing to pursue his own career in management this summer, has criticised the Dutchman's approach to coaching.

"In modern football, I believe that players want to see a bit more passion in their coach," McCarthy, speaking to Portuguese website Zerozero, said of Ten Hag.

"They need to feel that the coach is with them and willing to fight alongside them.

"Tactically, I feel that Erik is at the top. He lacks a bit of that fire, that passion. That's where we differ, him and I."