Manchester United were beaten by a goal to nil away to Newcastle on Saturday night, ending their decent run of Premier League results.
In truth, it could have been worse for Ten Hag’s men, who were awful on the night, barely laying a glove on the home side who cruised to the three points.
United’s attackers were non existent for the 90 minutes with a lack of threat and desire plaguing the team’s performance once more.
Marcus Rashford played from the right-flank and suffered another wretched night in a season which is simply passing him by.
The forward was criticised for his efforts after the game but as reported by The Mirror, Harry Maguire quickly leapt to his teammates defence.
“Marcus had an unbelievable season last season. This season, it hasn’t clicked for him. He’s working hard. Everyone in that dressing room knows what he’s about,” he said.
Bar a late flurry, in which Maguire played a role in an undeserved equaliser being ruled out, United were lacklustre throughout and looked devoid of ideas.
“The tempo wasn’t there, the intensity wasn’t there. They were a lot better than us. We grew into the game, but we didn’t have enough in the end,” said Maguire.
In fairness to the former captain, he was one of a very few who held their own on Tyneside, having repelled Newcastle’s consistent flow of attacks the best he could.
It was United’s third testing away game in six days but there was no excuse for the level of labour applied by Ten Hag’s men.
Maguire admitted it has been a “tough week” for United but they have no time to feel sorry for themselves with Chelsea visiting Old Trafford this coming Wednesday.
United’s woeful record in the big games is an issue Ten Hag needs to address quickly if he is to ease the pressure on his, and his team’s shoulders.