Monday, March 6: Erik ten Hag 's alarm buzzes.
Peering at the date, he's reminded of how many goals his Manchester United side conceded in a disastrous, unforgivable second-half showing away to arch rivals Liverpool in what proved to be a record-breaking 7-0 mauling. No time like the present to put things right, though, and the Red Devils boss made his way to United's Carrington training base for 7am, with the fallout still raging.
The players who produced such a dire performance, leading to the club's worst-ever defeat at Anfield, were called in two hours later for a team meeting more akin to a post-mortem than an analytical breakdown.
As reported by Daily Mail, Ten Hag showed his squad - some of whom had hastily cancelled planned media events on Monday - damning video clips from the devastating loss to make them feel his anger, opting against a full replay of the game in order to focus on the second-half collapse.
Mirror Football understands that the Dutchman then allowed his squad to have their say during Monday morning's brutal breakdown and air any grievances they harboured from the humiliating defeat. In his post-match press conference, Ten Hag was asked if any of his flops had spoken up in the dressing room.
"No," the 52-year-old firmly replied. "I didn't give them the chance. I've only given my opinion about it." Ten Hag's opinion, of course, weighs heavily, and in his brief conversation with the downbeat squad, his sentiment was similar to that of Gary Neville 's rallying call in the Sky Sports studio.
" Real Betis on Thursday, Southampton next Sunday, back on the bike," a furious Neville affirmed shortly after the final whistle, as he attempted to avoid getting too "wound-up" and hoped that Sunday's massacre was merely "a blip."
'What happened doesn't destroy all the good work we have done this season', was Ten Hag's message, according to the Mail. The former Ajax boss told his players, who'd sharply exited the bowels of Anfield with their tails between their legs, to be hungry and put things rights, using the feeling of embarrassment to fuel a strong end to what's been a promising campaign at Old Trafford.
This isn't the first time that Ten Hag has had to deal with a defeat of this manner, however, having infamously lost 4-0 to Brentford in his first away game this term and then 6-3 in his maiden Manchester Derby. In a bid to avoid further humiliation on the road, he told his squad to expect more sessions with Dutch sports psychologist Rainier Koers, who visits Carrington a couple of times per week.
Unlike when Ten Hag punished the Red Devils by making them run 13.8km in the sweltering heat the day after losing at Brentford back in August - a gruelling exercise which he joined in with to demonstrate his desire for togetherness - his initial response to United's 7-0 annihilation was less draconian and with more focus on the mental aspect of continued crisis results. Captain Bruno Fernandes is perhaps fortunate not to have faced personal punishment from the FA after man-handling linesman Adam Nunn at 5-0.
Watching Liverpool run riot, it was easy to forget that the players who crumbled on the Anfield turf were the same as those who'd won the club's first trophy in six years just a week earlier. The shambolic display only added to their manager's surprise, and the disappointment on the faces of key figures like football director John Murtough and first-team coach Steve McClaren.
"I haven't seen this from my team, I don't think it's us," Ten Hag reflected before leaving Merseyside with a face like thunder. "I have some, that are the bad days. But also those are the days if you do the right things, if you react with the right measures as a manager and as a team, you can learn a lot from it and can strengthen your mentality."
While Fernandes and Luke Shaw fronted up to the media after full-time, only two players have braved posting on their social platforms as the dust began to settle - David de Gea and Marcus Rashford. After former Red Devils captain Roy Keane suggested that United's players should "go into hiding," defiant goalkeeper De Gea broke his silence on Sunday evening.
"I know these message don't sit well on such a day," the 32-year-old Spaniard acknowledged after losing to Liverpool for the seventh time in his career. "This was a disastrous moment for us and these results shouldn't happen, especially with the journey we are all on. We have a duty to this club, a responsibility to represent the badge but we have many opportunities to look ahead, many games coming fast and we have to lock our focus on these."
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Rashford then took to Twitter just before 1pm on Monday to say: "I wish we could play a game today to try and put things right. The result is the result, and we can't see past that! We must not let it define our season. We have to trust the process and stick together."
The process resumes on Thursday night. Real Betis come to Old Trafford for the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie and Manuel Pellegrini 's men will smell blood.
