Erik ten Hag branded criticism of Manchester United after they scraped past Coventry to reach the FA Cup final as “a disgrace”.
United blew a 3-0 lead with 20 minutes to go against Coventry, eighth in the Championship, VAR coming to their rescue in the final minute of extra time to rule out a winning goal from the Sky Blues.
Although United won the resulting penalty shoot-out 4-2, to set up a second successive final against local rivals Manchester City, Ten Hag and his players faced a barrage of criticism for their implosion - including from their own fans.
But the under-fire United boss came out fighting ahead of tomorrow’s Premier League visit of Sheffield United, taking on those who laid into him and his players, and hitting back at their brutal criticism. Asked if he understood the negative reaction to United’s hollow semi-final win, Ten Hag said: “No. Absolutely not.
“You made enough and one of the questions was 'is it embarrassing?' No, the reaction from you was embarrassing.
“It is the comments. Top football is about results, we made it to a final and we deserved it, not only by this game but also the other games.
“We lost control for 20 minutes, we also had bad luck, when it went 3-2 and then 3-3. We were very lucky in the end, clear.
“Penalties was very good and we made it to the final, it is a huge achievement. Twice in two years is magnificent. For me as a manager, four cup finals in four years. The comments are a disgrace.”
Pushed on United’s failure to see out the semi-final at 3-0 up and needing a fortuitous VAR call and then penalties to beat Coventry, Ten Hag doubled down.
“So first of all, the most important thing we can do to put ourselves in a winning position is by good structure and we have seen that on many occasions,” said Ten Hag. “We have seen by the first goal and other games, but bring the game over the line, some things have to do with mentality, physics, we don't have the tools as well, we have a back four and have to make compromises and be really creative.
“But we can't sub players there as well, what you need is a full squad and you can take your messages from the side, repair things.
“It's a matter of mentality and some game reading and an opponent takes more risks, so we have to improve it, but you need a full squad to repair that.”
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