Young: Keep building and winning
Ashley Young says the Reds must continue to build on the important progress the team have made recently and says picking up as many points as possible is the name of the game during the Christmas period.
United head to Young’s former home, Watford, on Sunday afternoon with plenty of points up for grabs over the next two weeks.
The captain feels the team have made important strides forward of late with performances and he says it’s vital the Reds keep hitting the heights in the coming days.
“It’s just about keeping on winning. We’re going into the busy Christmas period now when it’s just game after game and it’s just about winning and getting points on the board,” Ash told us.
“I always say talking about getting into the top four is not what our club is about, we should be pushing for titles and trophies. Obviously it’s a transitional period where we have to talk about getting into the top four but I think if different things had gone different ways especially this season in games we’d be further up the league.
“As long as we keep playing with the confidence we’ve shown and we keep building on what it is the manager wants us to build on then we’re going in the right direction. Things are starting to come together and performances are getting better and that’s the way we need to go, we need to keep bettering our performance.”
Young netted his first goal of the season earlier this month in the 4-0 Europa League win over AZ Alkmaar at Old Trafford. That game also saw an excellent double for Mason Greenwood who has been one of a host of youngsters who have impressed this term for the first team.
As club captain, Young has done his best to help the young players grasp their opportunities and he’s full of praise for the way they have handled life on the biggest stage.
“I’ve just been there really whenever they’ve wanted advice. I’ve been around long enough now and whenever they want advice we’re here. There isn’t just me, there’s Nemanja, Juan, David, Granty and other senior players,” he insisted.
“As a captain you just want them to go out there and do well. It’s just about talking to them before the game, during the game and after the game and telling them to keep doing what they’ve been doing for the 18s and Reserves. That’s why they’re with us training in the first team day in, day out and they’ve got to be on their toes every day and give 100 per cent, that’s how we work in this squad. They’ve come through the Academy so they have that winning mentality and they know the Manchester United way, and it’s vitally important that they keep doing what they’ve done so far.”
Talking further about Greenwood, Young added: “You can tell he’s just a natural goalscorer and I think most of his goals have been pretty identical. I don’t think many defenders know what he’s going to do, as soon as he gets the ball he’s just got an eye for a goal. He’s been fantastic for us. He’s obviously been getting on the scoresheet but he’s also a kid that wants to learn and I think training with us day in, day out has brought him on massively.
“All the young boys have stepped up when they’ve had to as I said. We’ve had injuries in the squad so they’ve had to come in and when they’ve been called upon they’ve been brilliant. The game against Everton, it being the 4000th match with an Academy player in the squad, I think it was fitting that an Academy player scored a goal and obviously a point isn’t what we wanted but that point could go a long come the end of the season.”
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