Reds show togetherness at Carrington

There is no escaping the fact that the Anfield experience will have deeply hurt everybody connected to the club. While some of the response has bordered on the hysterical, that was always to be expected. Manchester United losing any game is big news and drives engagement but losing 7-0 to our fiercest rivals was inevitably going to ramp the level of spotlight up to a whole new level.

First up was the press conference, where Marcus Rashford flanked manager Erik ten Hag. Both made no excuses for what happened on Merseyside and spoke with a quiet determination to get things moving in the right direction. As the player elected for the media duties, Rashford's growing maturity was evident in the measured manner he answered his questions.

While he bristled at the suggestion the players gave up, he portrayed an air of focus and professionalism, and is happy there is another game, against Real Betis in the Europa League, just around the corner. Yet it is fair to say the weekend defeat is something that cannot merely be instantly forgotten or written off, as I am sure every United fan will appreciate.

"It cuts deep," admitted Rashy. And he meant it.

Ten Hag shared the responsibility for the heavy defeat, conceding we made a mess of things on the day. "We are in the same boat," he declared, a message he has been keen to reiterate ever since taking charge of the club.

The Dutchman is an experienced manager and learned plenty of lessons at Ajax as he firmly installed the Amsterdam giants back at the top of the Eredivisie. While the media whirlwind around United is surely another step beyond that, he did not appear ruffled or shell-shocked by what happened at Liverpool. There has been a consistency to his comments and beliefs and there was never any way that was going to change.

For him, the next game is the most important, and do not doubt that sights are firmly fixed now on Betis and the substantial challenge they provide on the road to Budapest.

So the next part of the Europa League build-up was the open training session, conducted as snow showers fell onto the pitches.

Quite what the visitors will make of the weather when they get to Old Trafford later is anybody's guess when you consider the fact that temperatures this weekend in Sevilla are due to hit 27 degrees. Consequently, the keepers came bouncing out of the building, not only bringing the energy but keeping warm, before going off to start their work.

David De Gea and co then joined up with the main group, when they made their way into the practice area, with the players embracing and sharing handshakes and high-fives. The sense of genuine team spirit continued as the players circled manager Ten Hag. He addressed them and, although we could not hear his words, he had total engagement from all of the staff.

Togetherness and defiance appeared be the over-arching message. The Manchester United way.

While Bruno Fernandes had been singled out for a scarcely believable level of criticism in the past few days, he had been staunchly defended by his manager and Rashford earlier. I find it hard to see how his commitment to the cause could ever be questioned and it is obvious to see how hugely respected he is within the dressing room and throughout the club.

The players peeled off to start the session, jogging around the perimeter, with the goalkeepers again working separately. Some gentle rondos to loosen the muscles soon became more and more intense, noticeably from the very moment Lisandro Martinez became one of the 'piggies in the middle', snapping at toes. Scott McTominay was vocally contesting things in the group further away from our vantage point and, as coaches Steve McClaren and Benni McCarthy checked to see all was above aboard, the serious business crept closer as those with the cameras were told their time was up.

Back in the groove and returning to the regularity of a game, and fresh challenge, every few days, as has become the norm for United this season with our continued progression in the cup competitions.

Come 20:00 GMT on Thursday, Old Trafford will be full, as always, with fans perhaps still coming to terms with the result at Anfield. For all the pain inflicted by Jurgen Klopp's men and the fall-out that has followed in the media, the players can surely be certain of one thing. Just as their minds will be refocused and, as Erik said, the reset button hit, those supporters will be back in their usual mode. Cheering the side on, hoping to spur them to another important victory.

The opinions in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Manchester United Football Club.