Manchester United players completely ignored Erik ten Hag's pre-match message vs Newcastle

Manchester United's players completely ignored Erik ten Hag's advice ahead of their crushing home defeat to Newcastle.

The Red Devils returned to action in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday following their humiliating 3-0 loss to bitter rivals Manchester City on the weekend.

However, they were played off the park by Newcastle, who handed them their second consecutive 3-0 defeat at Old Trafford.

Goals from Miguel Almiron, Lewis Hall and Joe Willock secured the victory, as United's hopes of back-to-back silverware took a major hit.

In the lead-up to the contest, Ten Hag warned his players about 'not feeling sorry for themselves'.

However, the players ignored his message in the lead-up to Newcastle's second goal, when several players switched off to complain about a decision going against them.

Speaking ahead of their Cup tie against the Magpies, Ten Hag told Sky Sports: “You can’t feel sorry for yourself as a top footballer.

“It’s tough, it’s hard, you have to deal with it for 24 hours and then you move to another challenge. You can’t change it anymore, but you can change the future.”

The Dutchman's comments came after Roy Keane criticised captain Bruno Fernandes for moaning during the Manchester derby.

And the players clearly haven't adhered to their manager's advice, after they lost concentration in the lead-up to Lewis Hall's first-half strike.

The visitors were awarded a free-kick after Paul Dummett was adjudged to have been fouled by Anthony Martial.

But instead of taking up their positions on the pitch, plenty of United stars were guilty of crowding out the referee, before Hall found the back of the net with a fantastic strike from the edge of the area.

Ten Hag will have undoubtedly been furious about his players' behaviour, having already made them watch Manchester City's celebrations in silence.

Speaking after the game, Ten Hag issued a public apology to the fans, admitting something had to change.

“It was not good enough,” he admitted. “We have to take responsibility for it. I have to take responsibility for it. We didn't give the performance so I am sorry to the fans. It is below our standards and we have to put it right.

“We have to recover from it, and do it quickly. Saturday is the next game and we have to raise our standards. This is not good enough. Players will stand up and they are sticking together. You have seen that they have tried and we know this is not good enough. I am responsible for this and we will do this together.”

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