Manchester United’s Herrera: The team cannot relax
Ander Herrera, winner of Manchester United’s player of the year award last season, has insisted that the club cannot relax ahead of the game against Stoke.
The Spaniard won over Manchester United fans with his huge passion and enthusiasm for the club and continued to do so by warning that himself and his teammates cannot rest on their laurels. Herrera played a huge part in the Red Devils successes last season but has yet to make a start for the club after Matic’s arrival.
Speaking to MUTV, Ander said, “The Premier League is very long and every team can beat you. Now we have to face Stoke, and we’ve had four seasons without winning there. It’s been a good way to start [the campaign] but we cannot relax.”.
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“We are ready to face them and, hopefully, the weather is not so bad there because, when it is bad, it is very difficult to play. We are ready. No excuses – let’s try to win there. We are Manchester United, so we are not scared.”, Herrera said passionately.
The Spaniard continued, “Always, against Manchester United, every team or every fan of the opponent are waiting for us. It’s a big day for us. We have to be equal to their attitude and then we have to show our quality. The first thing is the attitude. The atmosphere is going to be against us, but that is normal.”.
Herrera has echoed his teammate, Mata’s, views on how the Premier League is a marathon and not a sprint. Mourinho has also stated that his players can’t get too caught up in the hype and it appears his whole camp are reiterating this to the press. Should the Manchester United footballers be as focused as they say they are, then a win against Stoke may be on the cards.
The bet365 Stadium, formerly called the Britannia Stadium, is notoriously known for it’s tough weather and tougher footballers. However, typically tall, strong players have been replaced over the years by Mark Hughes who has tried to slowly change Stoke’s style of play from ‘boot the ball up the field’ to a tiki-taka brand of football.
At the same time, Hughes has managed to maintain his team’s good form at home and team’s always face a tough game when heading there, particularly top teams. Herrera and Manchester United will need to be in top gear in order to beat a stubborn Stoke side if they wish to maintain their 100% start to the season.
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Mourinho has already praised his players and has claimed that his current batch are his best in his career, not in terms of quality necessarily but rather in their bonds as well as attitude. A loss or even a draw may upset this positive mood currently at the training ground and Manchester United will need to show that they can keep things going in the Premier League’s 4th round of fixtures.