Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag spoke with members of 12 supporters’ clubs worldwide yesterday, before his side’s game against Aston Villa tonight.
The Red Devils face Villa for the second time in less than a week in round three of the Carabao Cup.
United lost 3-1 on Sunday to a Villa side that experienced a new manager bounce following the appointment of Unai Emery.
Asked about the defeat, Ten Hag said: “We were not happy with our performance at Villa Park on Sunday, we made it quite clear in our analysis it’s not acceptable, it’s never acceptable.
“We have to deliver, we have to deliver every game and that is the culture that has to be here.”
Fans thanked Ten Hag for bringing a fighting spirit back to the club which hasn’t been seen in a long time.
He said: “Manchester United won a lot of titles, a lot of trophies and it was always by the team, team spirit and fighting spirit.
“That is one of the things I wanted to bring back and we are in the right direction.”
When asked what he thought of the fans, he said: “Magnificent, magnificent. The atmosphere, what we see in the moment at Old Trafford is magnificent, the fight, I think you feel it, I think it strengthens the squad.”
Given the ever-present controversy surrounding United’s owners the Glazers, seeing fans get a chance to put questions to the manager can be seen as a step in the right direction.
But it could just be a PR stunt and many passionate supporters will insist more should be done, or that there’s still no alternative but a change of ownership.
With the World Cup just around the corner, United will be hoping they can go into the break off the back of good results.
They’ve won the Carabao Cup five times in total, but were knocked out at this stage of the competition last season so will be hoping they can go further this time.
