Erik ten Hag must take some blame for what he frequently criticises Manchester United's players for

In amongst the euphoria of Manchester United's dramatic late comeback against Brentford at the weekend, it was easy to see how Erik ten Hag's criticism of his team could get lost.

There was a desire to paint the Scott McTominay-inspired win against the Bees as a turning point, but as Ten Hag acknowledged, that will require an improvement in mentality as much as performances.

For most of Saturday afternoon, they had looked on course for a seventh defeat in 11 games. It would have been a major crisis at Old Trafford. Instead, they came away with a fortuitous win but Ten Hag admitted after the game that he hadn't been enjoying what he's seeing from his team so far this season.

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“In football it is eat or get eaten. Too many times in the first half of this season we got eaten by opponents who are more hungry. This can’t be. It has to go away," he said.

“Every player has to deliver that in every second he is on the pitch. That is the demand, the standard, when you do that we have seen last season you get a determined team. We were not always determined on every occasion in games, and you get hammered for it. This has to change.”

This is a pretty ruthless criticism of his players from Ten Hag. He isn't accusing them of making technical errors, or of not understanding tactical requirements. He's saying they lack the fight and the hunger to succeed. It should be the most basic of requirements for any professional footballer, never mind one trying to succeed at Manchester United.

You wonder whether this message is sinking in inside Carrington, because it's not the first time the players have heard of it. Ten Hag