David Moyes has vowed that Manchester United will let their football do the talking as they look to reverse a run of league defeats at Villa Park on Sunday.
The former Everton manager was Sir Alex Ferguson’s chosen successor when he took charge of the club in May, but United’s current league points tally leaves them closer to the relegation zone than leaders Arsenal.
However, in spite of some sections of Old Trafford being vocal in their disapproval and a MoyesOut# campaign doing the rounds on Twitter, the Scot made it clear that he expected this kind of scrutiny.
“There were a lot of games we were expected to win before but this club is expected to win all its games,” said Moyes. “That’s the fact and why, if we lose one or two, things get said. When I came here, I knew that was the situation.
“We’ve got a lot of games coming up where we can pick up points, but what we need to do is not talk about it and make it happen on the field.”
Moyes is remaining optimistic ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash with Aston Villa, saying that his side can build on the confidence instilled by Tuesday’s 1-0 win in the Champions League.
“We see it as an opportunity,” he said. “We have got a long way to go and we have to try to make sure we only take one game at a time.
“We’ve not done as well in the league as we should have done but we’re working hard to try to put it right. The quality of players we have got here gives us a chance to do that and hopefully that will be the case.”
Meanwhile, Tom Cleverley acknowledged in an interview with MUTV today that he has not enjoyed great form so far in this campaign, but feels that with the intense Christmas period coming up his performances will quickly improve.
“I feel like I’ve got more to give,” said the England international. “I’ve had a few average games, a few more than I would prefer. But I felt this time last year was when I hit my best form of the season, when we were playing every few days.
“I’m the type of player who prefers that, and if I can get into a rhythm then hopefully I can add more than just appearances to my record – I can also add some standout performances.”
United have a strong record against the Villains – they claimed last year’s Premier League title with a 3-0 victory over the Midlands club, and have only lost twice to them since 1999.
Paul Lambert’s side have emerged from a bad run of form to record two wins and two draws in their previous five games, but have concerns over main striker Christian Benteke, who has not scored since mid-September.
Aston Villa v Manchester United kicks off at 1.30pm at Villa Park on Sunday.
Image courtesy of Sky Sports via YouTube, with thanks.
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