Erik ten Hag must face uncomfortable truth amid his Manchester United squad criticism

Erik ten Hag deserves credit for not ducking the issue at Manchester United on Saturday but that is where the praise ends.

United suffered their 11th defeat of the season over the weekend and a first-ever home loss against Bournemouth. Dominic Solanke, Philip Billing and Marcos Senesi were on target for the visitors and in all honesty it could have been far worse for the Reds.

Ten Hag and United were on the up in recent weeks: The Dutchman was named manager of the month for November and Wednesday's 2-1 win over Chelsea was one of their season's best performances. But they came crashing down to earth inside four minutes on Saturday and showed no signs of getting back into the fight.

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United have been the team of false dawns this season. The comeback win over Nottingham Forest, the back-to-back victories over Burnley and Crystal Palace, three straight successes in October and a trio of clean-sheet victories in the Premier League last month. But crushing defeats have never been far away.

"I think we have to always be ready for the game and so I have to take the responsibility for that, I have to prepare the team so they are ready for the game," Ten Hag said of Saturday's defeat. "From my point of view, I'm very disappointed the way we started and we have to be better.

"I think, as a squad, we are not good enough to be consistent and we have to work as a squad to improve that. We are really inconsistent, we have the abilities to do it, but you have to do it every game and every third day."

It is damning criticism to admit the players are not good enough but that criticism is as much