Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Admits Spurs Loss Is 'Worst Day' of His Managerial Career

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has accepted responsibility for his side's humiliating 6-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Despite taking the lead through an early Bruno Fernandes penalty, the Red Devils were completely overwhelmed by a rampant Spurs who capitalised on each and every individual error to roar to an emphatic victory.

Here's what Solskjaer had to say about it all.

'The Worst Day' of His Career

"We have contributed a lot to our own downfall," he said (via BBC Sport). "To explain now is quite difficult. We have been beaten 6-1 at home by a very good side.

"It is the worst day of my career as Manchester United manager and the worst day for all of them as United players.

"It is not the worst day in Manchester United history, we have bounced back before."

New Defenders Needed?

“We defend as a team, we defend from the front, we defend as a group and whoever we're linked with doesn't mean it's true, does it?" he said (via the club's official website).

"We're going to be linked with players all day long but we need as a group and a team to get the performances as we were before the lockdown or after the restart, when we were a very good defensive team and we didn't concede loads of goals. With the talented players [we have] it's something I have to look at because we can't be as open as we were today.

“Well, we'll probably update you or we'll know by tomorrow night when the window's closed, but that [today's performance] isn't about getting players in. This is about who's here and getting the best out of the ones who are here and today was the worst that you can get from these. I can't say anything other than that.”

Taking Responsibility

"It is embarrassing, I hold my hands up, it is my fault. It is not Manchester United," Solskjaer told Sky Sports. "You don't win games by making individual mistakes, errors and a performance like that.

"It was nowhere near good enough. Today is the worst. I can't say any more than that. When you have a defeat like this you have to look yourself in the mirror."

On Érik Lamela

Anthony Martial was shown a red card during the first half for a clash with Érik Lamela, who appeared to provoke the Frenchman and then made a meal of what was a foolish reaction from Martial.

“It's no excuse," he said. "But [Lamela] must be having an operation in his throat, the boy. It's a bad reaction by Anthony [though]. No excuse because the game's not lost there and then but we were in the game by then.

"If that [Lamela] was one of my players, I would absolutely hang him up to dry because you don't go down like that. If Ant had gone down, it could have been going the other way. But he shouldn't react like that.”

Lucky to Go on International Break

"It's nowhere near good enough," Solskjaer explained. "And when you have a defeat like this, which has happened at the club before, you've just got to look yourself in the mirror.

"They're lucky now, the boys, or I don't know if it is lucky, but they're going away on international duty some of them and for the ones who are staying here, we've got a good [amount of] time to work. But we don't [all] see each other for ten days and that's hard now because we need to batten down the hatches and get together because that wasn't anywhere near good enough as a squad or a team.”

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