• Goalkeeper apologises to fans after United beaten at Newcastle • Solskjær admits finishing in the top six will be ‘very tough’

A bewildered looking David de Gea described Manchester United’s form as “unacceptable” as a 1-0 defeat at Newcastle United left Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s side only two points above the relegation zone.

The Spain goalkeeper joined his manager in apologising to travelling fans after a Newcastle counterattack following a visiting corner led to 19-year-old Matty Longstaff scoring the winning goal on his Premier League debut for Steve Bruce’s previously struggling side.

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“I think a lot of things [need] to improve,” De Gea told Sky Sports. “They were the better team today. It’s a hard moment for us, a difficult moment, but we are United – we need to keep fighting.

“Probably it’s the most difficult time since I’ve been here. I don’t know what’s happening. We cannot score even one goal in [the last] two games. It’s difficult to say something. Sorry to the fans.

“We conceded a goal from a corner for us. That cannot happen. It is not acceptable. Not just this game; the whole season is not good.”

De Gea’s sentiments were echoed and endorsed by a manager who appears in danger of breaking all sorts of unwanted records at Old Trafford after the most underwhelming of starts to the season. “We didn’t create enough chances to deserve to win,” said Solskjær who expressed sympathy with his centre-half Harry Maguire for missing his side’s best chance, a clear close range first-half header.

“It was such a disappointing performance, particularly in the first half,” said the Norwegian. “I’d like to say sorry to the fans that we’re not wining games. The second half was better but the decision-making wasn’t good enough. Confidence is a big thing. At the moment when there’s a decision to be made, the players don’t make it instinctively, that’s affecting everyone.

“These boys give everything they’ve got for the shirt but we’ve given ourselves a very tough task to get to the top six, let alone the top four; we need to start getting results fast. We need to win almost every game. We need to raise our game, especially away from home, we need to raise our supporters’ mood.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ole Gunnar Solskjær waves to fans after the match. Photograph: Jan Kruger/Getty Images

Solskjær conceded that his side had been caught cold by the rapid counterattack which prefaced Longstaff’s winner. “We weren’t set up for the counterattack and that shouldn’t happen,” he said. “At the moment it’s just not going for us but I’ve missed bigger chances than Harry.”

He suggested that the international break will be a time of soul searching with a tactical rejig under consideration. “We need to clear our heads,” said Manchester United’s manager. “We need to find a solution. We’ve got to make the decision to see if this is the way to keep going [tactically].”

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After winning his first game as a manager against the club he once played for, Bruce was somewhat happier. “It’s quite ironic Matty Longstaff’s beat Manchester United in his first game, I’ve been trying for 20-odd years,” said Newcastle’s manager, whose side responded superbly following last Sunday’s 5-0 thrashing at Leicester. “It was typical Matty that the first thing he said when he came off was “thank you”. It’s been a difficult week but I’m delighted with the performance.”