Seeking Ruthlessness

United fans got their money’s worth in terms of tension and entertainment in the first few weeks of the season, didn’t they?
Aye, but they shouldn’t have had the drama at Everton or Fulham. At Craven Cottage we missed a penalty kick with three minutes to go, which would have made it 3-1 and put the game out of sight. We threw points away there. And then it was even worse at Everton, where we threw away two goals in injury time. That’s unthinkable.
Losing late goals isn’t something you associate with the Reds. Was it as baffling for you as it was for the supporters?
It’s not like us to concede goals like that. This team doesn’t kill sides off as well as they should – that’s an area where I'd like to see an improvement. At Goodison we had three or four chances at 3-1 to put the game out of sight, but we were wasteful and paid the price. That killer instinct just isn’t there at the moment and it’s something we need to develop. That said, we haven’t had a problem scoring goals – we got three against Liverpool, Everton and West Ham, two at Fulham, three in the Community Shield; we don’t have difficulty finding the net. What we’re not doing, though, is killing teams off.
How do you address that?
The lessons learned are always important and I have no doubt the players have taken these setbacks on board. They suffer just as much – if not more – than the rest of us. They’re the ones throwing the points away and they’re the ones who know fine well that they’re good enough to win this league. So they don’t want to let themselves down. During the match, those on the sidelines – the fans, myself and my staff –perhaps feel the frustration more, but after the game, and for the next day or two, it’s the players who continue to hurt. They don’t like feeling that way, so they’ll take steps to ensure they don’t keep making the same mistakes. All the very best professionals, in any sport in the world, need two things – consistency and concentration. Those attributes are vital to success.

Have we already reached a stage where we can’t afford to drop any more points?
No, no, no. Every team is going to drop points – that’s inevitable. If you look at Chelsea’s start to the season, you’d have expected them to have won all those games, so the position they’re in doesn’t surprise me. Meanwhile, we’ve had tricky trips to Fulham and Everton then played Liverpool at home. Those are difficult matches. Liverpool, Arsenal and ourselves have all played top sides early on – Chelsea’s sterner tests are still to come.
Antonio Valencia suffered a bad injury against Rangers. How do we compensate for his absence from the side?
It’s a loss to lose any player but Antonio was probably the most improved squad member over the last 12 months, so it was a big blow. The development we saw from when he signed for us to the present day has been amazing. We thought it would take a couple of years for him to reach this level, but he took to the challenge like a duck to water. However, we’ve got a strong squad and we’ll cope. It’s up to Nani now to play his part, and he has done superbly this season, so he’ll offer us width. Then there’s also Gabriel Obertan and the boy Bebe, who’s training very well. We’re not too bad – we’ve got options.
Do you learn as much about a player on a cold night in Scunthorpe as you do when they play at Old Trafford against Liverpool?
Absolutely. In the last few years we’ve done really well in the Carling Cup. But it’s not only the fact that we’ve had success. We’ve been to Scunthorpe this season and we went to Barnsley last year, and it’s in those sorts of environments you learn about your squad. We fielded a lot of young players in the Carling Cup last time out, and they acquitted themselves admirably. The competition has served us well; it allows me to keep everybody happy in terms of giving them games and we’ve reached the last two finals, which has its obvious advantages. Playing at Wembley and competing on the big stage is terrific for player development.
You can’t beat the experience of winning trophies, can you?
No, you can’t, but going out in the early rounds – like we did against Coventry and Southend a few years ago – are also good experiences. We always prefer to win, but I remember when Coventry came to Old Trafford and beat us in 2007. Our lads simply forgot it was a cup tie and the penalty for a poor performance was getting knocked out. Coventry were very hungry and you have to say they deserved to win. That was a big lesson and it helps us now.

@insideunited