Morgan Schneiderlin admits Manchester United are solely to blame for their collapse against Tottenham on Sunday, and believes there could be a mental problem in the squad.
Louis van Gaal’s promising Premier League run came to an abrupt end in a brutal eight minute spell, with Spurs firing three second-half goals to keep their title hopes alive.
The collapse, which immediately followed the injury of stand-out performer Timothy Fosu-Mensah, has seen the pressure pile back on Van Gaal as United slipped four points behind top-four rivals Manchester City.
‘After the first goal we lost a bit of shape, maybe it was a mental thing,’ Schneiderlin told the Manchester Evening News.
‘In the first half we had possession and caused a few problems but after the goal it happened so quickly, three goals so quick cannot happen.’
United went into the game on a high after 1-0 wins over City and Everton took them to four wins from their last five league games, helping Van Gaal recover from the criticism brought by the Europa League exit against Liverpool.
But Schneiderlin admits that his team-mates did not react positively after going a goal behind, which he says led to the humbling defeat at White Hart Lane.
‘Everyone has their head down like you can imagine,’ said the Frenchman.
‘No-one would have thought that after 60 minutes it would have been 3-0.
‘But fair play to them they got us when we were a bit down. Like I say it is us to blame.’
United will have to recover their mental strength quickly as they prepare for their FA Cup quarter-final replay with fellow top-four challengers West Ham on Wednesday night.
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