Erik ten Hag has seven-point criteria for Manchester United reaction to Liverpool rout

What do you say when you’ve got just a few minutes to collect your thoughts after being dealt the biggest loss of your managerial career by your club’s fiercest rivals?

Luckily or unluckily, Erik ten Hag had been in similar situations prior to Liverpool’s 7-0 thumping of United. In 2015, his FC Utrecht side succumbed to a 7-1 mauling by PSV before his Ajax team fell to a 6-2 defeat to Feyenoord in 2019.

He was thrust into the spotlight again after August’s 4-0 defeat to Brentford just two games into his United tenure. There were echoes of his comments from then in the aftermath at Anfield.

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“Unacceptable” was swapped for “unprofessional” while Ten Hag underlined on both occasions that his players had abandoned his plan. He demonstrated both times that he can hit the right tone when it matters most - the fallout of Cristiano Ronaldo’s tantrum exit can be included within that.

Post-Liverpool, Ten Hag made sure the media knew that he was appalled with the display of his players but refused to single out any for individual criticism. When asked whether his stern in-game chat with Antony was to do with tracking back, he replied: “I had many talks with many players.”

Speaking last month, Ten Hag spoke of his delight that there was a real sense of togetherness within the squad and he showed in the Anfield press conference that he is not about to jeopardise that, even after a historically abysmal result.

The fact is, United have played too well to get sucked into the spiralling mire that was evident last season. Ten Hag noted there were differences between the loss to Liverpool and the one to Brentford, highlighting that United more than matched Liverpool