‘Not acceptable’: Bruno Fernandes sorry for latest Manchester United slip

The Manchester United captain, Bruno Fernandes, has apologised for an unacceptable performance against Bournemouth that lacked the quality, effort and aggression required.

Erik ten Hag won the Carabao Cup during a promising first season in charge but the Dutchman’s second campaign has been a rollercoaster with more lows than highs. United’s season reached a nadir on Saturday as Bournemouth won at Old Trafford for the first time, with the hosts fortunate to escape with only a 3-0 defeat.

It was a remarkable drop-off from last Wednesday’s 2-1 win against Chelsea and led an exasperated Ten Hag to admit United are not good enough to play on a high level consistently.

“[I want] to apologise for the performance,” Fernandes said. “It was not acceptable, starting on me. I’m not talking about anyone else. But I think everyone agrees in the dressing room that the performance was [not] at our level and we have to perform much better. It was underperforming on quality-wise, on effort-wise and not aggressive as we did in the last game against Chelsea. If you don’t do your job, you’re not going to win the game.”

Similar words and explanations have been heard during a challenging season in which United have lost 11 of their 23 matches in all competitions. They have won 11 and drawn the other, but the eye-watering number of defeats means pressure is mounting on Ten Hag and his team.

“I don’t know [why it was so different to Chelsea] but it’s been consistently like [this],” Fernandes told MUTV. “When we win a game, the next one we don’t perform in the same way we did before. I don’t know if it’s like a lack of concentration or focus or something else, but it’s something that we have to be aware that after winning a game we have to get that consistency of winning games. Even sometimes [if we are] underperforming but getting the result.”

United now need to press reset and find the right attitude to avoid being sent into a tailspin at the end of a crucial week. First up comes Tuesday’s key Champions League match against Bayern Munich, with Ten Hag’s side able to progress only if they win and the other Group A game, between Copenhagen and Galatasaray, ends in a draw. Then comes a Premier League trip to Liverpool next Sunday, a match Fernandes will miss after collecting his fifth booking of the season, against Bournemouth.

“Obviously it’s good [that we play soon],” Fernandes said. “Obviously we know that now the next game is going to be really tough. We have to win and obviously wait for a good result on the other game for us. But we have to do our job first of all, and thinking and understanding that is going to be a tough game for us. But we are capable, more than able, to get the result.”

While United’s problems are pored over in detail, things are looking far rosier on the south coast. The summer appointment Andoni Iraola has overseen a superb upturn in recent weeks at Bournemouth.

Asked where the win rated in the club’s recent history, the long-serving right-back Adam Smith told BBC Radio Solent: “I’d say it’s No 1. I mean, it’s the Theatre of Dreams and we had never won here. It was tough at times and we suffered. But we were playing Manchester United. I think the lads will remember it for a long time. We kept a clean sheet and it probably should have maybe have been 4-0. It was unbelievable for the fans.”