'Eat or you get eaten' - Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag makes 'turning point' plea after comeback win

The afterglow from a promising first season under the Dutchman has long since dimmed, with the mood threatening to darken further before the international break.

Mathias Jensen put Brentford on course for a famous Old Trafford win as United entered second-half stoppage time staring down the barrel of a fifth defeat in their opening eight league matches.

But super sub Scott McTominay had other ideas. Introduced in the 87th minute, he fired United level in the 93rd minute and four minutes later headed home to seal a scarcely believable 2-1 comeback win.

“This has to be a turning point but also it has to be a restart because we have to get into higher levels,” United boss Ten Hag said.

“But the spirit is good, the belief is good, the team is together.

“We have shown that, we have shown strong character and it can be the turning point in the season but it’s up to us.

“Those games give fuel to a dressing room. They know how far they have to go to get results.

“It can’t be easy going and in football, it’s eat or you get eaten.

“Too many times in the first half of the season we have got eaten by opponents who are more hungry, and this can’t be. It has to go away.

“Every player, every second he is on the pitch, he has to deliver that. That is the demand and the standard.

“When you do that, we have seen last season that you get a determined team.

“We were not always determined on every occasion in games and you get hammered for it and this has to change.”

McTominay was the fifth and final substitution made by Ten Hag as United desperately looked to avoid a third straight Old Trafford defeat in all competitions.

The homegrown midfielder was linked with a summer move but stayed and came up trumps on Saturday, when he admitted he could not quite hear Ten Hag’s instructions when bringing him on.

McTominay reckoned his manager “probably said something like ‘go on and score’,” but the grinning Dutchman said: “I said score two goals!

“It says a lot (about his mentality). He’s Man United in everything, in his heart. He’s playing for the badge, he gives his life.

“When you’re coming on and you give this to the team, that tells a lot. That also tells a lot about this dressing room, they are together.

“And also I felt the whole afternoon a strong togetherness with the fans because even when we are losing they kept standing behind us.

“They kept us going, the team kept going and finally we get rewarded.”