The 3-0 Premier League loss to Bournemouth on Saturday was their 11th defeat in 23 games across all competitions this season.

To remain in the Champions League, they must defeat Bayern Munich at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

“First and foremost, it is the players’ responsibility,” McTominay stated.

“We’ve had many incredible players, and we’re now at the point where we have big personalities in the dressing room.”

“It’s not just like [with] some of the other managers, where it’s been a little bit toxic at times – the boys are completely behind the manager.”

“We have an incredible coaching staff.” It’s as simple as that: we just want to do well for the football club.”

McTominay, 27, made his Manchester United debut under Jose Mourinho in 2017.

Ten Hag, who is in his second season at Old Trafford, denied rumors of a fractured dressing room last week, stating he and his squad are “together.”

Rumours of player unrest plagued predecessors David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Mourinho, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, as well as interim boss Ralf Rangnick, to varied degrees.

Solskjaer criticized the behavior of some players during his tenure as manager in a September interview.

United sit sixth in the Premier League and bottom of their Champions League group, having to beat Bayern Munich and relying on other results to advance to the last 16.

“We are inconsistent as a team, and we have not been naive to that,” McTominay remarked.

“We discussed it with the coaching staff.” The timetable has been rigorous, but that is not an excuse. We must work together to discover answers to these questions.

“Every team in the Premier League is extremely athletic, and every team in the Champions League can run; we need to match that and more when you play for this club.”

“The manager can’t do too much from the sidelines, it needs to come from the players.”

What Manchester United requires to reach the last 16 of the Champions League
Ten Meanwhile, Hag cited injury concerns as one of the reasons for his team’s inconsistency compared to last season’s optimistic third-place finish.

“We had a regular team [last season], not so many changes, especially in our backline – we had a regular formation and that helps you,” he remarked.

“When we get back to a regular schedule, we’ll play better, and you’ll have a better chance of being consistent.”

“I know this team is capable of exceeding expectations. We didn’t do it three months ago – we did it last week. It all begins with the correct mentality.”

Analysis
Simon Stone of BBC Sport

Scott McTominay used the word “toxic” as his final response during the news conference. In backing the present manager, he stated that the locker room had turned against past managers.

If it has happened before, it must be assumed that it can happen again.

Manchester United has a big week ahead of them. Liverpool will play Bayern Munich on Sunday. There is a significant shift in mood between two victories and two failures.

Unfortunately for Ten Hag, the return of personnel will not cure the exasperating inconsistency that has plagued United this season. Lisandro Martinez, in particular, is unlikely to return before Christmas.

Despite all of the excellent aspects of their performance against Galatasaray, they did not win, and their victory against Chelsea last week has been overshadowed by the Blues’ terrible performance at Goodison Park on Sunday.