LONDON • While the Old Trafford faithful are hopeful more tales can be sung about "the legend of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer" when Manchester United welcome Huddersfield in what will be his first home game tomorrow, Ashley Young is seeking to temper expectations despite their "crazy week".
The 45-year-old stand-in manager went back to basics at Cardiff on Saturday to provide an antidote to the misery of the Jose Mourinho era, as United scored five goals in an English Premier League game since Alex Ferguson's last match in May 2013.
But, while Solskjaer will field a similar attacking line-up at home to keep the "feel-good factor" going, Young has urged his teammates to "concentrate on what happens on the pitch, not off it".
He said: "We have lots of games coming up over the Christmas period and it is about recovering in the right way, and we just have to concentrate on each game coming up and not look too far ahead.
"You go out to do a job and go out and play football. That is what every single player in the squad has been doing and obviously, there has been a change of manager... A lot of the press will talk about us, but Huddersfield is our focus."
The wing-back admitted that Solskjaer's positive demeanour had been a refreshing change to the sullen manner often exhibited by Mourinho.
He joked: "I don't think he has stopped smiling. He was like that as a player, he always has a smile on his face and that can reflect down on to the team which is a good thing."
United captain Antonio Valencia also felt the mood had lifted around the club.
Despite having been left out of the match-day squad in Wales, the defender, who has made only four league appearances this term after being ostracised by Mourinho, remains convinced that under Solskjaer's watch, a top-four place is still within their grasp. The Red Devils are eight points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea.
He said: "Nobody is giving up at all. You know there is half a season left to play so it's all about working hard, battling and playing well.
"We know we have got the quality within the squad to be able to do that. The main thing is to get everyone together after Christmas and it is a great fact we don't have to travel as it's at our doorstep. Playing in front of our fans is always a special occasion.
"We are getting the chance to make them happy and, hopefully, (we can) put any recent bad results behind us to get into good form again."
With the Terriers mired in the relegation zone after five league defeats on the trot, United have an opportunity to close the gap and Nemanja Matic believes they can put David Wagner's men to the sword by following Solskjaer's mantra of "more forward play".
However, pundit and ex-United player Gary Neville has urged caution as one swallow does not make a summer, insisting it was too early to make a judgment call on the Norwegian's managerial credentials.
Speaking on his own podcast, the former United defender said: "There was an immediate bounce and impact from Ole, however it was Cardiff and we need to see if they can do it over six months."
MAN UNITED V HUDDERSFIELD
Singtel TV Ch103 & StarHub Ch228, tomorrow, 11pm
Vincent Subramaniam (born 28 January 1955) is a Singaporean football coach. Educated at Victoria School, Vincent was most recently in charge of Young Lions. He was the national coach of the Singapore national football team from 1998 to 2001.
Lions line up 2 friendlies, to get new coach Yoshida soon
Ajax stun Ronaldo's Juventus to reach Champions League semis Teenage centre-back De Ligt struck midway through the second period, though, to seal a 3-2 aggregate win and set up a last-four clash
UEFA Champions League: Ajax stun Ronaldo's Juventus to reach
Football: Man City suffer shock Premier League defeat by Crystal Palace Manchester City's Spanish manager Pep Guardiola reacts on the touchline during the match. PHOTO: AFP
Man City suffer shock Premier League defeat by Crystal Palace
Patrice Evra claims accusations of homophobia have been invented by French media after he used an anti-homosexual slur in a social media spat with Paris Saint-Germain More Earlier, PSG condemned "Patrice Evra's homophobic insults aimed at us on social media" after a bizarre spat in which Evra used the French word "pede", a derogatory term
Tough summer for EPL chasing pack LONDON • Liverpool's attempt to dethrone Manchester City as Premier League champions ended in glorious failure on Sunday, but at least Jurgen Klopp's team proved it was possible to take the title race to the wire.
Soccer-City and Liverpool leave chasing pack facing tough summer
The homes of Alves' team mates Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Thiago Silva were also broken into in November and December during matches, L'Equipe said. Burglars entered Alves house in Neuilly-sur-Seine, just outside of Paris, on Wednesday while he was playing a Ligue 1 match against Montpellier.
PSG's Dani Alves house burgled during match - L'Equipe
Norwich City secured promotion to the English Premier League after a three-year absence with a 2-1 win at home to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday. The victory left Championship leaders Norwich nine
Norwich City promoted to Premier League after three-year
Looking ahead from this European defeat, there is some hope. Now is the time for the club to, like Liverpool, invest more in the squad over the summer and bounce back again next year. The board must support Mauricio Pochettino's Tottenham Hotspur project, or else it will collapse and he will move on and build a new one with another club.
Premier League Clubs 'Strongly Opposed' to Proposed UEFA Champions League & Europa League Changes The Premier League has released a statement in which they state unanimous opposition to proposed changes to the structure of both the Champions League and Europa League.
Champions League: Premier League reacts as UEFA makes changes
Soccer Football - Europa League Quarter Final First Leg - SK Slavia Prague v Chelsea - Eden Arena, Prague, Czech Republic - April 11, 2019 Chelsea's Olivier Giroud celebrates after the match Action
Olivier Giroud demands 'more important' role with Chelsea
FIFA backs 48-team World Cup in 2022 AFP March 15, 2019 AFP 3 Comments Miami (AFP) - FIFA moved a step closer on Friday to expanding the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to 48 teams and hopes to confirm the plans in June if a suitable co-host can be found.
FIFA study backs 48-team World Cup in 2022 | CBC Sports
0 comments:
Post a Comment