Man Utd icon ‘can’t comprehend lack of work ethic’ as Ten Hag slammed for ‘manner of Spurs defeat’

Dwight Yorke has slammed the Man Utd players for their “lack of conviction” and effort in Sunday’s 3-0 home defeat to Tottenham.

Man Utd were embarrassed by Ange Postecoglou’s side at Old Trafford on Sunday, going behind after three minutes and being reduced to 10 men before half time when captain Bruno Fernandes was sent off.

After Brennan Johnson’s opener, Dejan Kulusevski doubled Spurs’ lead shortly after the break and Dominic Solanke rubbed salt in the wounds in the 77th minute.

In all honesty, 3-0 flattered Erik ten Hag’s side and the Dutchman is again under severe pressure after another woeful result and performance.

New signing Manuel Ugarte has started very slowly since joining from Paris Saint-Germain and was exposed in midfield, while his partners in the middle were sent off (Fernandes) and taken off injured following the red card (Kobbie Mainoo).

It is again a depressing time to be a Man Utd fan and the club’s former striker Yorke is very unimpressed by “the manner of the defeat”, slamming the “work ethic” and “lack of conviction”.

“It was hard to watch, hard to take,” he said. “You know you’re going to win and lose in football – and not very often would we lose at Old Trafford – but the problem is the manner of the defeat.

“Three goals against Liverpool, three against Bournemouth at home, and now three against Spurs. These are teams that would find it very difficult to come to United and get a point, let alone three. It’s hard to get your head around it.

“The biggest thing is the lack of conviction, the lack of work ethic.

“People talk about identity, and you can go into more detail, about your methodology and all those fancy words, but you have to show desire and earn the right to win football matches. That’s what always stuck with me from my time at United.

“So yeah, it is very hard to comprehend and to get your head around it. And for me, the biggest thing, like I said, you know, we win and we lose football games at times. But the lack of conviction, the lack of work ethic…people talk about your identity or whatever and you can go into more details and your methodology and all of these kind fancy words.”

Yorke continued: “When I joined, you had to match the opposition for effort because we knew then our talent would shine through. If we’re not matching them for desire, effort, work ethic, you’re never going to win.

“It was clear on Sunday we were lacking in those departments. We didn’t look fit. We didn’t press. There was no energy whatsoever. It looked like we were playing with no idea about what we were supposed to do when we were in or out of position. Those are two fundamental things I find disturbing.”