Bruno Fernandes will stay as Manchester United captain regardless of critical grievance of the Portugal midfielder’s behaviour of their 7-0 capitulation at Liverpool.
Fernandes was once rebuked for refusing to trace again when Stefan Bajcetic went previous him, feigning damage after a conflict with Ibrahima Konate and pushing linesman Adam Nunn in the second one part of United’s joint worst defeat.
The midfielder was once additionally accused of asking to be substituted overdue within the sport, even if United resources later denied that was once the case and stated the participant was once simply seeking to explain his place.
Chris Sutton, the previous Chelsea and Blackburn striker, claimed Fernandes will have to be stripped at the captaincy for such petulant behaviour whilst former United defender Gary Neville branded his movements as “disgraceful” and “embarassing”.
However Erik ten Hag has jumped to the defence of Fernandes sooner than the primary leg of United’s Europa League Spherical of 16 tie at house to Actual Betis on Thursday, when the chief has demanded an instantaneous reaction to the Anfield debacle.
And, regardless of admitting that the Portuguese had issues to be informed from the revel in, Ten Hag insisted he’ll retain the armband on every occasion the reputable membership captain Harry Maguire – who hardly ever options now – isn’t taking part in.
Requested if Fernandes would stay as captain, the United supervisor stated: “Sure, certainly. He’s taking part in an excellent season, he’s had a in reality necessary position in why we’re within the place the place we’re as a result of he’s giving power to the workforce, now not handiest operating so much on the absolute best depth but in addition in the fitting approach and proper path.
“He’s pointing and training gamers, he’s an inspiration for the entire workforce however nobody is highest. Everybody has his errors and everybody has to be informed. I’ve to be informed, he’ll be told as neatly as a result of he’s clever. I’m in reality glad to have Bruno Fernandes within the workforce and that he’s captain when Harry isn’t at the pitch.”
Fernandes additionally drew steadfast enhance from Marcus Rashford, who claimed his team-mate’s movements had been in part born of his desperation to win.
“Like the chief stated, no one is highest, every so often you need to win so dangerous you find yourself doing issues which might be a bit of bit out of personality,” the United striker stated. “However I 100 in step with cent enhance Bruno and am in the back of him and as a workforce we need to enhance him as a result of he’s an implausible participant and we wouldn’t be within the place we’re in if he wasn’t taking part in video games for us.
“I really like taking part in with Bruno, for a ahead like me he’s a really perfect participant to play with. He’s been a excellent chief for us even if he’s now not been captain, which is all the time a excellent signal, he’s helped different gamers transform higher leaders and the truth of it’s we will’t be a workforce organised with only one chief being captain.
“He’s finished so much on the subject of bringing his management talents in, that was once from the instant he arrived. I don’t have the rest damaging to mention about Bruno.”
‘We did not surrender. That is nonsense’
Rashford additionally refuted any tips that United threw within the towel in opposition to Liverpool because the membership’s most sensible scorer known as for a swift response in opposition to Betis, who’re 5th in L. a. Liga and controlled through former Manchester Town supervisor Manuel Pellegrini.
“We didn’t surrender, that’s nonsense,” Rashford stated. “We had been disorganised, sure, conversation was once dangerous, sure, that’s why we conceded the objectives. But it surely comes all the way down to the truth that I imagine everybody was once seeking to get again into the sport that a lot, we got here clear of the workforce’s rules out and in of ownership.
“I felt just like the forwards had been simply seeking to press as a unit however we weren’t hooked up with the midfield. After which the similar with the midfield and the defence. We had been seeking to get a grip of the sport at 2-0 and 3-0, we had been speaking however I don’t assume we had been in reality in settlement of what to do.
“Concentrate, it’s came about and the one factor we will do is be told from it and transfer on. I’m glad and thankful we’ve got any other sport briefly as a result of we’ve got a possibility to take a step ahead from the closing sport and put it in the back of us. There’s no level residing on what came about. We simply press the reset button.
“Simply shedding in opposition to Liverpool is sufficient, it doesn’t topic the scoreline – while you lose a sport in opposition to Liverpool or any of your largest opponents it cuts deep.”
Ten Hag is assured he’ll get a response. “We win in combination, we lose in combination. We make a large number on Sunday and we need to care for it,” he stated. “They mirrored neatly [on the defeat]. We additionally know in a season setbacks will all the time be there and it was once an enormous setback, that’s transparent.
“There was once a large number of classes in it and that may assist us for the longer term, that’s the certain. We had been in reality beneath reasonable, particularly mentally sensible. We need to take the lesson, if we need to be a large workforce and we need to win trophies then it’s a must to act otherwise.”
