sport news What Erik ten Hag learned from watching Man United in the flesh for the first ... trends now

'The best thing that has happened today is the season has finished... it has been horrible, a very bad season in all ways.'

David de Gea's words neatly summed up the feelings of most Manchester United fans as a torturous campaign finally drew to a close on Sunday with a wholly predictable 1-0 defeat at Crystal Palace.

But for Erik ten Hag, sat in the stands at Selhurst Park to watch his new team in person for the first time, the hard work is only just getting started. And, boy, is there a lot of hard work ahead.

The Dutch coach, who has accepted the challenge of rebuilding United into trophy contenders from their lowest ebb in decades, sat impassively as he watched the action and refused to comment to the press pack immediately afterwards.

But his mind would have been whirring with observations - probably more negative than positive - and fizzing with ideas on how to drag United out of their present malaise as he gets down to work this week.

Here's a few things Ten Hag will have learned from Sunday's match as he watched United in the flesh for the first time.

First impressions of Lindelof are not good at all

We already know that the likes of Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic and Edinson Cavani are on their way out of Old Trafford and they'll have already said their farewells.

A number of other players are likely to be on the transfer list once the window opens. But for everyone else, Sunday was an audition in front of the new manager and a good opportunity to impress.

Unfortunately for Victor Lindelof, he succeeded only in strengthening the case for a new centre-half to be signed at the earliest opportunity.

In the first-half, he was on the halfway line trying and failing to mark Odsonne Edouard when a long ball sailed over him and allowed Jeffrey Schlupp to run into a huge gap between Harry Maguire and Diogo Dalot.

United got away with it on that occasion, with David de Gea saving from Wilfried Zaha, and again a few minutes later when the keeper denied Schlupp after Lindelof was caught out again.

But when the Swede and Dalot were both caught off balance, Zaha was afforded space to pick out the bottom corner and score what proved to be the winning goal.

Overall, it was another 4/10 performance from a player who will be extremely fortunate to be in the top three United defenders next season. 

Lindelof looks bereft of confidence and, like in the Brighton defeat, makes needless errors.

If not for Raphael Varane's injury problems, he would have played less this season and when the Frenchman is fit, you can see him alongside Maguire and a new signing, possibly Ajax's Jurrien Timber, in Ten Hag's back three next term.

You imagine Lindelof's performance on Sunday will have confirmed the worst fears of the incoming boss and that a new defensive signing should be a priority.

United have lost their assertiveness on the road

Sunday made it six consecutive away league defeats for United, the first time this has happened since March 1981.

They haven't won on their travels since a 4-2 success at Leeds United on February 20, with losses to Manchester City, Everton, Liverpool, Arsenal, Brighton and Palace following.

United have conceded 17 times in these six matches and scored only twice, which is yet another damning indictment.

They've won just six times from 19 away league games this season and have a goal difference on the road of minus 10.

There was a time when United teams would strut into away grounds and dominate proceedings from the first whistle. Now they just look callow and frightened, viewing the first goal put past them as an inevitability.

Once they have conceded, they're liable to lose all concentration and just collapse, as happened when they conceded three goals in 11 second-half minutes at Brighton this month.

While it will take some time for United to be in a position to exactly replicate Ten Hag's approach from Ajax, one thing they must quickly find is the same kind of intensity from the outset.

They must try to blow teams away in the opening 20 minutes, something they just haven't done this season. Just 11 of their 57 league goals have come in the opening half-hour.

Ten Hag must get them to be proactive rather than reactive.

Midfield overhaul must be the top priority

Ralf Rangnick went with Fred and Scott McTominay in midfield in south London. Not that he had much choice.

Injury has curtailed Paul Pogba's final few weeks with the club, probably a blessing, and Matic wasn't even in the matchday squad as he prepares to find a new club too.

Unfortunately neither Fred nor McTominay did enough to suggest to

read more from dailymail.....