Man Utd boss Ten Hag after Brighton loss: 'A hell of a job.'

The Dutchman’s reign at the Man United helm got off to a disastrous start as Brighton & Hove Albion pulled off a historic win against the Red Devils at Old Trafford.

Erik Ten Hag was disappointed with how his players performed in the first half against Brighton [Sky Sports]

Erik Ten Hag admits 'it is a hell of a job' to get Manchester United back to where they belong after they started the 2022-23 Premier League campaign with a defeat to Brighton and Hove.

The Dutchman’s reign at the Man United helm got off to a disastrous start as the Seagulls pulled off a historic win against the Red Devils.

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Brighton broke the deadlock when Pascal Groß found the net in the 30th minute, and the German midfielder doubled their lead nine minutes later with a close-range tap in.

An own goal in the 68th minute from Alexis MacAllister gave United hope, but the hosts failed to secure a comeback as Graham Potter's boys went on to register their first ever victory at Old Trafford.

“First of all, I'm disappointed that’s clear,” United manager Ten Hag told BBC MOTD 2 after the loss.

"We have to take the lessons. We could have been better on the ball, making too many easy mistakes. Also out of possession the organisation, [they were] goals they should not have scored.

"Brighton is a good team but I look to my team and we should have done things better and I thought it was unnecessary to give two easy goals away if we are better on the ball and make better decisions, not only with technical skills but with our choices and then we could have dominated the game.

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"[In the second half] I saw a team that sticks together, who battles and also creates chances. We came back in the game but it was also about execution I think we had really good chances with [Marcus] Rashford. At least we created chances.

When asked if he was aware of the scale of the job, he replied: "I’m aware of it from before and this game does not change it. It’s a hell of a job and we have to work really hard, analyse, learn the lessons, and move forward.

Cristiano Ronaldo's fitness, he said: "This game will help [Cristiano Ronaldo] get a better fitness level but not only Cristiano the whole team has to work. The team has to learn especially on the execution of the game plan, we could have done things better."

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