Harry Maguire has admitted that Manchester United's poor start to the Premier League season had a severe mental impact on the team following the 6-1 home thrashing by Tottenham Hotspur.
United opened up the campaign with two defeats at Old Trafford, having also lost on the opening day against Crystal Palace, although they had won at Brighton & Hove Albion in between those losses courtesy of a last-gasp Bruno Fernandes penalty.
Centre-back Maguire was at the heart of the defence which had conceded 11 goals among those three fixtures and revealed the extent of the anguish.
'After Spurs, we were all devastated and just three games into the season it felt like it was a big crisis,' the United captain told Manchester United's website.
'It was quite a strange feeling, but we don't expect to lose games at Old Trafford and we definitely don't expect to lose games like we did.'
However, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side have hit back in superb style since following the international break after the humiliating Spurs loss.
They have since gone undefeated, while tidying up the defence which has seen them keep two clean sheets and concede just twice in four games.
A mightily impressive 2-1 win at Paris-Saint Germain in the Champions League was followed by a goalless draw with Chelsea at the weekend, while they have recorded big wins including a 4-1 victory at Newcastle United and Wednesday night's 5-0 demolition of RB Leipzig.
Maguire insists the mentality of the squad has greatly improved since the international break as they prepare for another tough test on Sunday when they host Arsenal.
'We have worked hard on the training ground and since the international break we have gone back to not conceding chances like last year, when we were a solid unit and a solid base,' he added when speaking after the Leipzig victory.
'We have come back with a great mentality. We needed a reaction. The only way was up.
'We had a bad start to the season, we knew that. We have had a good reaction [since]. Obviously, [we're] disappointed not to win the game against Chelsea but we have another big game at the weekend and one we have to perform in like tonight.'