De Ligt: We're focused on solving tough period

Speaking to external media earlier this week, the Dutchman said: "I think everybody can understand that it's a difficult period, not only for the players, I think also for the fans, for the staff, for everybody involved in the club.

"I think a club of the size of Manchester United shouldn't be in 14th place, I think, at the moment. So yeah, we know that, we know it's tough for us, for everybody, but the only thing that we can do and control is the work we do on the pitch.

"Today we had a good session, we trained really hard, and this way, I think we hope to solve this period and to make it a better period for us, for ourselves."

De Ligt does not believe that the change to a three-at-the-back system under Ruben Amorim has been an unfamiliar challenge for the squad to adapt to over recent months, and the centre-back says the Reds will only focus on putting in good performances in the setup as we look to turn our fortunes.

"I think people from the outside are looking into it too much," the 25-year-old said. "If you saw our matches this season, it was also with [Erik] ten Hag, we build up always with a three, with Diogo Dalot as an inverted midfielder.

"So, we built up with a three like we do now. We defended high up the pitch with one full-back, so we defended also with a three. With [Ruud] van Nistelrooy it was also the same, we built up with a three.

"I can understand that people are always watching and looking to find a solution but the only thing we can do is to control our performances, control our way of working, and that's what we try to do."

The first week in 2025 has represented the Reds' first without a midweek game since Amorim's arrival in November, which has provided more opportunity for work on the training pitch at Carrington, but there's little let up in the challenges ahead.

Next up, it is league leaders Liverpool at Anfield this afternoon (16:30 GMT kick-off), and despite the teams' contrasting current positions in the Premier League table, De Ligt insists United are heading to Merseyside with confidence in achieving a positive result.

"You always have to believe," De Ligt said. "Maybe from the outside, it's now easy to think: 'Oh, United is going to Liverpool, Liverpool [in] great form, United maybe in not so good form, oh, it's done.'

"But in football, it's never like that. So we believe in that and we try to work as hard as possible to get a result there."