Erik ten Hag insists he is to BLAME for Man United’s dreadful 3-0 defeat by Bournemouth… as he laments his players’ ‘very disappointing’ lack of consistency

Erik ten Hag accepted the blame for Manchester United’s latest shocking defeat, and admitted his players are not good enough to perform on a consistent basis.

United lost for the 11th time in 23 games this season, as Bournemouth ran out comfortable 3-0 winners at a stunned Old Trafford.

Ten Hag’s side were punished for another slow start, once again showing the worst side of their game, three days after outplaying Chelsea.

‘I think we have to always be ready for the game, and so I have to take the responsibility for that,’ the United manager said.

‘I have to prepare the team so they are ready for the game.

‘From my point of view, I’m very disappointed the way we started. Annoyed, definitely. I expected something different.

‘I hoped before the game that we could build on the performance and result from Chelsea, so it’s very disappointing.

‘We are really inconsistent. We have the abilities to do it, but you have to do it every game and every third day.

‘As a group, we have to improve and get tougher. We have to be ready for the game from the start. In this league, if you are not playing on the highest levels, you get killed.

‘You have to start right and 100 per cent focused. It can’t happen that the opponent is more eager than you are. You can’t make such mistakes at this level, opponents will take benefit from it. You can’t switch off and that’s what happened. We have to work on that if we want to be successful. If you want to reach the targets you’ve set, you have to be consistent.

‘I understand the fans’ disappointment and frustration. We are as well because we should do better. We have to show it every game and not with such big difference in levels.’

Captain Bruno Fernandes admitted that United simply couldn’t match Bournemouth’s intensity. The Portugal star’s frustration got the better of him at the end when he picked up a booking for dissent, which will see him suspended for next weekend’s clash with Liverpool at Anfield.

‘They were more intense than us. They wanted it more,’ Fernandes said. ‘They really deserved the result. We should have performed much better.

‘We should have expected the intensity of their game but we under-performed in our levels and that’s why we don’t get the result.

‘We’re not consistent enough, obviously.

‘I think the last period we had really good results, even more in the Premier League, but that’s not enough.

‘If you want to be in the top spots, you have to do it every three days. You know that’s going to be tough.

‘Every team play good football, every team are intense and have qualities, so you have to be more consistent in everything you do.

‘The fans are not used to this. They don’t want to be in this situation.

‘We don’t want to be in this situation either and we completely understand their frustrations.’

Bournemouth celebrated their first ever win at Old Trafford thanks to goals from Dominic Solanke, Philip Billing and Marcos Senesi.

And the margin of victory could have been even greater, as Andoni Iraola’s side also had two goals disallowed, while Solanke also hit the post.

‘To win away at Old Trafford is magnificent,’ said Solanke, who now has nine goals for the season.

‘It’s one of the best stadiums in the world and one of the best clubs in the world, so the boys are delighted to come and win.

‘It’s easy to probably get intimidated here but we kept our heads. At the moment, we feel like we can beat anyone and that showed.’

Bournemouth have now won four of their last five games, drawing the other.

For Iraola, this was up there with his victory over United at Old Trafford when he was playing for Athletic Bilbao in the Europa League in 2012.

‘It is a great result and great performance — you have to enjoy it,’ said the Bournemouth boss.

‘We knew we’d suffer to stop their front three because they are in a good moment, but we knew we would have chances because we’d have spaces to exploit,’ Iraola said.

‘Everyone performed really well, and we deserved the win.’