Ruben Amorim apologised to Manchester United supporters for their humiliating League Cup elimination by League Two Grimsby Town and claimed the players "were not even here" for the first half.
United trailed Grimsby 2-0 at half-time at Blundell Park and scored two late goals to force penalty kicks but were beaten 12-11 in a marathon shootout.
The loss is destined to be ranked among United's biggest domestic cup embarrassments and restricts them to one realistic option of silverware this season in the FA Cup .
Amorim said the players "spoke really loud today what they want", effectively suggesting they did not fancy the challenge against the fourth-tier team.
When asked what went wrong, Amorim said: "Everything. The way we started the game, we were not even here. When everything is