Erik ten Hag tells Man Utd players to do these 3 things vs Liverpool as he calls for ‘fighting spirit’

Erik ten Hag has given his Manchester United players clear instructions on what they must do in Monday’s clash against Liverpool.

It’s been a nightmare start for the Red Devils this campaign, with Ten Hag losing to Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford in his opening two matches.

But it hasn’t just been the scorelines which have disappointed supporters, United have been weak, brittle and have shown no signs of composure or character in the games.

Ten Hag is hoping that won’t be the case when Liverpool travel to Old Trafford on Monday and has offered his players a stern warning ahead of the game.

“It starts with yourself. Act as a team, follow the rules and principles, and work as hard as you can. If you do that, you get confidence,” the former Ajax manager said on Friday.

“I think I made myself clear. I was definitely not happy [with the performance against Brentford],” he added.

“You can talk about football and plan out a philosophy, but the basic stuff has to be good. That starts with the right attitude and you need a fighting spirit on the pitch. I didn’t see that from minute one. You have to bring it in every game on the pitch, but especially on Monday night.”

Despite Ten Hag’s criticisms, he insisted there is not an motivational problem with the team.

“It’s not difficult to motivate this team because, my experience with them is, from the start of the season they work really good on the training pitch,” he said.