Erik ten Hag did not hide away after suffering defeat at the hands of Brighton in his first competitive game as Manchester United manager on Sunday.
Ten Hag made a poor start to life at United when his side were beaten 2-1 at Old Trafford in the Premier League on the weekend. Many of the problems which undermined his predecessors’ time in charge were still evident as Pascal Gross scored twice in nine minutes to give Brighton a 2-0 lead at the break.
United rallied to some extent in the second half and halved the deficit through a fortuitous own goal from Alexis Mac Allister, but they could not find an equaliser. It was a miserable start to the new era at United, who were booed off at half-time and played amid a backdrop of protests against the Glazer ownership.
Despite suffering defeat, and admitting he had let himself in for “a hell of a job” at United, Ten Hag did not shy away from the public. The Dutchman was spotted dining out at Piccolino, an Italian restaurant in Cheshire on Sunday night.
He was joined by friends and family for the meal and even stopped to sign an autograph for a fan who approached him on the street. The evening out completed a crash course in what it is like to be Manchester United manager for the 52-year-old.
Ten Hag started the day by fielding questions about why he decided to leave star striker Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench for the opening game of the season. The 37-year-old has been agitating for a move away from the club this summer and missed the vast majority of pre-season for personal reasons, but might have expected to start with no other strikers available.
In the event, Ten Hag opted to play Christian Eriksen in a withdrawn role up front – a call which did not pay off. Ronaldo was introduced in the 53rd minute, with United struggling and 2-0 down, and although he made an impact, he could not turn things around.
"It is a hell of a job. We have to work really hard, analyse then move forward," Ten Hag admitted post-match. "Of course definitely a setback and real disappointment. I knew from the start it would not be easy. We gave two easy balls away and it was not good in the organisation."
"We could do better with the players we had. We made mistakes on the ball and organisation mistakes in defending. We have to take the lessons and learn quickly from it. Brighton are a decent team, all the compliments, but I look to my team and we should not give two easy goals away."
Ten Hag will hope for a better performance from his side when they travel to play Brentford on Saturday afternoon.
