Manchester United’s young stars will be galvanised by victory in the Community Shield and the taste of success will lead to further glory, according to defender Chris Smalling.
Even at the tender age of 23 Smalling is a relatively experienced squad member at United with three seasons in the first team under his belt.
Smalling has already won two Premier League titles and three Community shields with United and he believes the experience of winning trophies whet’s the appetite of the club’s young stars.
“Winning a trophy galvanises everyone and really helps you kick on,” he told the club’s official website.
“Celebrating in the dressing room afterwards is always a fantastic feeling and it just makes you hungrier to do it again and again.
“It’s great for some of the new lads like Wilf [Zaha] and the younger players to experience the feeling – it really gets you in the zone and shows you what you’re fighting for.”
Smalling knows the value of being given a chance at a young age and he believes that, in David Moyes, United have a manager willing to give youth a chance.
“The likes of Wilf, Adnan [Januzaj] and Jesse[Lingard] have done really well. The manager is the same as the previous manager when it comes to giving young players a chance,” he said.
“He gave them a good opportunity on tour and they’ve shown what they can do.
“It can be quite daunting when you go away with the first team for a few weeks but they’ve really bedded in and they’re great lads to get on with.”
United claimed their first trophy of the season with a 2-0 victory over Wigan, however, Smalling is focused on the season ahead.
“We know there are four more trophies up for grabs this season and winning trophies is what this club is all about,” he added.
“We want to make sure we’re there at the end of the season competing for those honours.”
Image courtesy of Andrea Sartorati with thanks
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