Nemanja Matic insists that 'everyone' at Manchester United supports under-fire Jose Mourinho
United recorded their worst start to a league season in 26 years on Saturday with their 3-1 defeat to West Ham
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Nemanja Matic has insisted that “everyone” at Manchester United is behind Jose Mourinho‘s efforts to turn the club’s fortunes around.
United recorded their worst start to a league season in 26 years on Saturday with their 3-1 defeat to West Ham, a result which has seen pressure on Mourinho intensify.
Mourinho has been critical of his players’ attitude since the start of United’s winless run and, ahead of tonight’s Champions League meeting with Valencia, he claimed some members of his squad “care more than others”.
However, Matic, one of Mourinho’s most trusted players, claimed yesterday that his manager enjoyed the support of the whole club.
“The manager is trying to turn this [around], he is trying to make the team stronger and ready for the next challenge,” the Serbian midfielder said.
“I can say that in the club everyone is giving his best to do better for the team.
“It’s very hard but this is football, this is life. For sure, everyone wants to do better. We know that we didn’t play well the last couple of games. Everyone is trying to resolve this situation.”
Matic said that his own performance in Saturday’s defeat was the worst of his United career so far and revealed that the players have spoken in the days since about how to best reverse their worrying form.
“Everyone has a responsibility,” he said. “Of course we spoke between us and we know the situation is not good and that we can do better.
“I expect that tomorrow everyone will give more than in the last game. Not only to give more but to be more concentrated.
“For me, I played one of the worst games since I signed for Man United,” he added. “I look in the mirror and I want to see where I made mistakes and where I can do better. For sure, everyone does the same.”
Matic admitted that United are now under pressure to pick up results but believes such pressure is to be expected when representing a top club.
“Pressure is always there. All my life I play with pressure, also my teammates. We are not scared to play,” he said.
“Everyone is trying to win. Everyone has a big motivation to win against Manchester United. We know that and we have to be ready.
“We were not ready in the last few games. Everyone wants to fight against us but we are not scared to play and I’m sure we will show that in the next few games.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments