Rangnick apologises for United’s abject defeat
Players subjected to chants of ‘you’re not fit to wear the shirt’ in 4-0 Brighton thrashing
Ralf Rangnick apologised to Manchester United’s supporters and called the 4-0 Premier League thrashing at Brighton “humiliating” and “unacceptable”.
United’s players were subjected to chants of “you’re not fit to wear the shirt” from their own fans as they were outclassed and outfought at the Amex Stadium.
A chastening defeat ensured the 20-time English champions will finish with their lowest points tally of the Premier League era and extinguished slender hopes of Champions League qualification.
“To start with, it’s important that we apologise to our supporters who came all the way from Manchester to Brighton,” said interim manager Rangnick.
“We were just not good enough from start to finish. The performance was not only poor, it was extremely poor. It was a humiliating defeat and even more so for a team like Manchester United. It’s not only that you lose 4-0, it was also the way we played and this is just unacceptable, very difficult to deal with and to cope.”
Protesting travelling fans once again took aim at United’s owners, with chants of “love United, hate Glazers” and “we want Glazers out” ringing out early.
They later vocally questioned the commitment of their side after goals from Albion quartet Moises Caicedo, Marc Cucurella, Pascal Gross and Leandro Trossard.
Sixth-placed United can now only accumulate a maximum 61 points – three fewer than in 201314, which began under David Moyes and finished with the caretaker management of Ryan Giggs.
United did at least show some fight in the closing stages, during which substitute Edinson Cavani had a goal disallowed for offside.
However, another major low in a miserable season – which has featured 11 defeats – highlighted the extent of the job facing incoming manager Erik ten Hag.
Rangnick is confident the current Ajax boss can revive the club’s fortunes.
“I’m still very positive that with Erik ten Hag that we have a top manager next season,” he said.
“I’m still positive that we can change the whole issue and show a completely different face next season. This is important not only for our fans but also for the image of the whole club.”
It was a humiliating defeat and even more so for a team like Manchester United
RALF RANGNICK, INTERIM MANAGER