Manchester United defender Matthijs de Ligt has thrown his support behind manager Ruben Amorim, insisting that the players must take full responsibility for the team’s disappointing results.

United followed up their 2-1 win over Chelsea with a 3-1 defeat to Brentford last weekend, a result that left fans frustrated and pundits questioning Amorim’s tactics. The Bees struck twice within the first 20 minutes through Igor Thiago before Benjamin Sesko pulled one back. A missed Bruno Fernandes penalty and a late Mathias Jensen strike sealed the victory for Brentford.

Addressing the criticism directed at his manager, De Ligt dismissed claims that Amorim’s system was to blame. “Of course, it’s always easy to look at the manager, but in the end the players on the pitch have to do it,” the Dutchman told reporters. “We can’t say the goals we conceded, or the chances we conceded, are because of the system. It has a lot to do with focus and concentration, and if that’s lacking in key moments, it makes the difference.”

The defender admitted the team had failed to build momentum after their win over Chelsea, calling the Brentford loss a major setback. “Really disappointed because all week we were speaking about keeping the momentum going. If you lose this game, it’s a big blow. Too often it’s the same song—we were short in key moments where we made the wrong decisions,” he added.

Manchester United will now look to regroup ahead of their next fixtures as pressure continues to mount.