Herrera: Manchester United have great squad depth
Manchester United’s Ander Herrera has been impressed with the club’s strength in depth this season, which many have claimed makes them title favourites.
Herrera, who won Manchester United’s player of the year last season, has hardly had a sniff of action so far but with the games starting to heat up, many expect to see more of the tenacious midfielder. With Pogba now out for a hamstring injury, it may happen earlier than expected.
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Speaking to MUTV the Spain international said, “I think now we can say that we have two players in every position on the pitch. You have players like Marcus Rashford, a runner who is always looking for the space, and you have [Romelu] Lukaku who can hold the ball in the difficult moments.”.
“During the game, he can be there holding the ball for everyone, then you have the likes of Juan [Mata] who can come inside to play football. “Then you have Anthony Martial who is brilliant in one-against-ones, we have Chris Smalling who is brilliant at defending and Daley [Blind] who can play the ball out fantastically well from the back.”, said Herrera enthusiastically.
The former Atletico Bilbao man continued optimistically, “I know it’s not easy to do what we did last season because we won three trophies, but we are going to try our best. I think we’re in a good moment, the club is in a good moment, we have a good understanding with the manager, so I’m very optimistic for the season.”.
With the Red Devils set to face off against Everton this Sunday and with the return of Champions League football to Old Trafford, Manchester United will need every bit of squad depth to compete in all competitions. The League Cup and the FA Cup are yet to begin as well but once they do, Mourinho’s men will be tested to the fullest.
Jose himself has already insisted he’s happy to have a full schedule as it means he can give everyone game-time and after seeing a rusty Darmian struggle against Stoke last weekend, the players not in the first XI clearly need minutes in their legs for sharpness. Either way, the United boss will have to manage his squad expertly if he wants to win any trophies.
He can’t rotate too much and risk losing momentum or cohesion and he also can’t stick to a rigid XI and risk a bunch of burnt-out players. Sir Alex Ferguson was touted as the best man manager for this exact reason, his ability to keep everyone in his squad happy and make them all feel like they’re contributing to the club’s success.
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Mourinho appears to be doing the same but only at the end of the season will fans truly be able to judge whether he did so successfully. Pogba may be injured but the Manchester United manager does have a reliable man to replace the Frenchman in Herrera; ever willing and a fine professional but will the wins continue to rack up for the players?