Manchester United

Simon Stone, BBC Sport football reporter

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag cancelled a planned day off for his players yesterday.

In addition to calling them in for additional training in the wake of their 4-0 humiliation at Brentford, in 30 degree heat, he made them run the combined 13.8km they were outrun by their hosts on Saturday.

With Liverpool due at Old Trafford on Monday, Ten Hag needs to get a grip of the situation quickly to prevent it spiralling completely out of control.

Talks are continuing with Juventus' controversial French midfielder Adrien Rabiot.

The club has played down suggestions their stance is changing around Cristiano Ronaldo but it does appear the situation is reaching a head.

Ronaldo wants to leave - and on Saturday at Brentford made a half-hearted attempt to acknowledge the fans present before heading to the tunnel.

His barely concealed disdain has alarmed United officials, who believe Ronaldo's attitude will not help Ten Hag revive the club after their alarming start to the season, which leaves them bottom of the Premier League.

Rather than United cancelling Ronaldo's contract, it remains to be seen whether his long-time adviser Jorge Mendes can manage to put together a deal acceptable to all parties that will see the 37-year-old leave Old Trafford before the transfer window closes on 1 September.

We asked you for your post-match thoughts after Brentford demolished Manchester United 4-0.

Here are some of your comments:

Will: It was embarrassing to watch and makes no sense. They are quality players but confidence is so brittle. They were never then going to recover from those two early mistakes. There’s no easy answer to this.

Colin: What is needed is not "quality "players, but players with character, with resolve, with steel in their bodies. Look for workhorses in the lower divisions! The current team's body language shows they're too used to being cosseted and treated like stars. Maybe Ten Hag has a deliberate strategy to bring back reality? Sort the men from the boys.

Ali: I think it is now that the club should be sold and Glazers must say goodbye. The new owners will definitely bring more energy and money to fund better signings.

Jian: De Gea is a very big concern. We lost Henderson, then De Gea starts to lose form. Is this a coincidence? When he has a competitor in the team, his form is the best in the team. Without his contribution last season we'd be in the bottom half. Now without Henderson we are heading towards bottom of the league.

Clive: This team, sorry these players - they are not a team - have proven time and again that they are not prepared to run, chase and tackle hard enough to win balls and then play with confidence. They have no confidence in themselves or each other. Replace most with young academy players. Couldn’t do worse and they will work harder.

Mark: Disappointment all around today. Club is in a complete mess from top to bottom. Bringing in a new manager with a different playing philosophy but handing him the same garbage that finished last season was never going to be a success. There's only so much one man can do. Ten Hag needs the suits to pull out all the stops for the players needed.

Did you miss Match of the Day 2 and that crucial last look at the weekend action?

Fear not, you can get it right here.

And if you missed Match of the Day with Gary Lineker on Saturday it's here.

Journalist Luke Edwards doesn't believe Brighton will be interested in selling Moises Caicedo this summer.

Manchester United have reportedly joined a list of clubs interested in signing the defensive midfielder, who joined the Seagulls for £4m in February 2021.

Edwards told the Transfer Gossip Daily podcast: "Caicedo was one of the hottest properties in Central American and Southern American football.

"Everyone was looking at him. Newcastle and Brighton were in a head-to-head in 2021. Why weren’t Manchester United looking at him then? Where is this global superpower football club?

"They are only aware of him when Brighton signed him and he has had a fantastic start to the season for Brighton. He is a fantastic talent, and everybody knew that.

"Fred and McTominay aren’t good enough in that position and he would probably replace one of them, but I don’t see Brighton letting him go in this window.

"I don’t doubt he will go on and play for one of the top six clubs, but Manchester United are once again playing catch up."

Hear more on the latest transfer rumours on BBC Sounds

Image source, Getty Images

Former Premier League midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker says the blame for Manchester United's loss to Brentford on Saturday lies with the club's owners.

He told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I think great clubs and great leadership leads to success. When you have great leadership it starts from the top and goes all the way down.

"The problem you’ve got since the Glazer family have taken over Manchester United, it is Americanised and all about money. The people who run this club are ex-Wall Street guys, bankers with no football experience whatsoever. All they are seeing is numbers and figures and profits and losses.

"You don’t have football people around you, you don’t have people who understand the fans and what this club means to world football and the success that needs to come with it.

"They haven’t recruited well for many years. They keep doing the same thing, going round in circles, hiring managers with big names without having a set plan in what the future holds.

"The problem they are causing for themselves is they aren’t speaking to the fans. Your money can’t protect you when it comes to owning Manchester United. You need to speak to the fans, come out, take the heat and say 'this is the plan for the club, this is what we want to do' and then show that."

Hear more from 35'50 on BBC Sounds

Manchester United have joined a list of Premier League clubs, including Arsenal and West Ham, interested in signing Ecuador defensive midfielder Moises Caicedo, 20, from Brighton. (Mirror), external

Cristiano Ronaldo was offered by Manchester United to rivals AC Milan and Inter Milan, but both Serie A clubs turned down the chance to sign the 37-year-old Portugal forward. (Tancredi Palmeri via Sun), external

Manchester United have denied speculation that Ronaldo's contract will be terminated. (Sky Sports), external

Want more transfer news? Read Monday's full gossip column

Image source, Getty Images

Fixing Manchester United's problems is going to be a long process which will not be fixed by a couple more summer signings, says former Premier League striker Glenn Murray.

Murray, who was commentating on Saturday's game for BBC Radio 5 Live, said: "It is a right mess and it has been for a couple of seasons now.

"Changing the manager is not miraculously going to save this Manchester United team and make them automatics for Champions League and fighting for Premier Leagues.

"This is going to be a process and stepping away and assessing the situation and building a philosophy within the football that runs right from the first team down to the academy so that pathway is made for young professionals to step into the Manchester United first team.

"Not having to go and splash millions and millions of pounds on maybes that don’t play your style even though at this current moment in time Manchester United don’t seem to have a style pinned down."

Hear more reaction to the weekend's games on BBC Sounds

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "It is my responsibility to give an explanation. It is clear the performance was really poor. When you make mistakes like this, you can't win the game.

"It is about taking responsibility on the pitch, you cannot make such mistakes at our level. We had to deal with the disappointment and bring the belief on the pitch.

"You have to be ready for a game and be ready for the battle as individuals and as a team. We have to push each other and bring the demands in because it is not good.

"It is clear we need players but I don't want to think about that in this moment. The good players we had should have been better.

"I hoped for a better start, but still I have to believe because I have seen good things but the two games from now are disappointing."

On the Manchester United fans, speaking to Sky Sports: "It's difficult for me, it's surprising when you start the game like this. In 35 minutes you concede four goals. The team has to take responsibility. I feel really sorry for the fans - they did everything to support us but we let them down.

"You have to take responsibility on the pitch as a team and as individuals, that's what we didn't do. What I asked them to do is play with belief and take responsibility for the performance. We have to work on that."

Matt Gault, BBC Sport

Perhaps the most damning thing that can be said about Manchester United's 4-0 defeat at Brentford is that it came as little surprise.

It was the seventh time United conceded at least four in a Premier League game since the start of last season.

That United have crumbled with such alarming frequency over the last 12 months is a stark indication of this side's fragile belief.

As they were in the opening weekend loss at home to Brighton, United were comprehensively outplayed as Brentford ran riot to score four times before half-time.

Summer signing Lisandro Martinez endured a torrid 45 minutes before being hooked at half-time, Bruno Fernandes was silenced by Christian Norgaard while Marcus Rashford ended a week in which he was linked to Paris St-Germain with a largely anonymous showing.

United's starting XI cost the club £424m. It's still early, of course, but United's first two performances of the season make it difficult to overstate the scale of the task facing Erik ten Hag.

In nine days they host Liverpool, to whom they conceded nine over two games last season. On the back of Saturday, the thought of facing Jurgen Klopp's side again will be enough to make most United fans tremble.

Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea, speaking to Sky Sports: "I'm just taking my responsibility today. I think I cost three points for my team. It was a poor performance from myself.

"After the first mistake and then the second, it was very difficult for my team-mates. At the moment it's tough every time we concede a goal. I should save the first shot - [if I had] the result would be different."

He added: "Of course we have to react much better and be capable of scoring goals. It was a poor performance.

"It's too easy to play in pre-season - you play for nothing. When you play the games that matter you need bravery, more consistency and proper players.

"We just need to stick together as a team and keep working. It's just the beginning. We have a lot to improve as a team with a new manager."

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