Erik ten Hag praised just one Man United player after dismal defeat against Nottingham Forest

Erik ten Hag reserved praise for one Manchester United star after their dismal defeat by Nottingham Forest.

The Red Devils were beaten 2-1 at the City Ground on Saturday evening after goals from Nicolas Dominguez and Morgan Gibbs-White came either side of Marcus Rashford’s goal for United.

After the match, Ten Hag was slammed by fans for a ‘sackable offence’.

Meanwhile, Brazilian winger Antony received criticism from United legend Peter Schmeichel.

Speaking after the defeat, Ten Hag was quick to praise young winger Amad Diallo, who was introduced in the 54th minute to replace Antony.

The Dutchman said: “In the second half, they [the attackers] were in the match.

“I thought Amad Diallo came in really good, Alejandro Garnacho played a very good game, I think. How he fought for that all the time and prepared the goal, a good goal by Marcus Rashford.”

Despite another disappointing result, Ten Hag is adamant that his side will improve.

He said: “One thing is clear, we are not consistent. We can beat the best teams in the league but not the other teams.

“We are showing against the top teams that we can go head-to-head. I am convinced and have a strong belief that we will improve.”

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Ten Hag added: “We overperformed last year and this year, we are underperforming. We have to do better. We know the reasons why it is not working.

“No team can deal with so many issues and injuries we have had. We should still have done better and we have depth in the squad, but when you have so many injuries, the depth is not enough.

“They (the owners) know that when I have a squad available, the results will be there. I believe that (things will improve), especially when players return. Every time you swap (players), the routines are not there.”

Next time out, United will take on Wigan Athletic as they kick off their FA Cup campaign.