Solskjaer frustrated by Burnley defeat
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer felt the first goal was crucial as Manchester United suffered a disappointing 2-0 defeat to Burnley.
The visitors opened the scoring through Chris Wood, and then defended resolutely both before and after adding a second strike through Jay Rodriguez. But although the Clarets eventually claimed all three points, Ole was keen to point out the race for a top-four place is far from over and he has already turned his attention to bouncing back in the Emirates FA Cup this weekend.
Here’s what the boss had to say in his post-match interviews with MUTV and BT Sport…
IMPORTANT FIRST GOAL, DEFLATING SECOND
“In the first half, I felt that with a bit of quality and luck, we could have scored the first goal. If you don’t get the first goal against Burnley, you know you’re in for a tough night because they can defend really well in the box. When they got the second goal, I think that is when all the air went out of the balloon.”
Solskjaer: We have to hold our hands up
Watch as the manager gives his opinion on the performance against Burnley in his post-match interview...
“We hold our hands up and tonight wasn’t good enough, but they always support the team and I’ve felt that support ever since I’ve played here. It’s important that we do in difficult times. We’re all disappointed. The players after disappointed, the club’s disappointed, but what else can we do than come in tomorrow and know that we’re wearing a Man United shirt and work to improve again? [On] Sunday [we have another game] in the FA Cup - it’s relentless.”
“The boys are giving everything they've got. They are experiencing this period for the first time in their lives, some of them, and it's very difficult for them. The expectations of this club as well are high and some of them have played 10, 12, 15 games and it's not easy for them. So, of course, I'm going to back them. I'm going to be here to help them get through this, because when you're at Man United there's always going to be criticism and we hold our hands up now. We can't do anything but hold our hands up and say this isn't good enough for this club.”
RACE FOR A TOP-FOUR PLACE
“So many times we feel that we can claw that points tally back and it doesn’t happen. Then again, we’re still fifth and we’ve just got to continue. There are loads of games left and we’re going to do everything we can to get as many points as possible.”
James admits the Reds weren't good enough
Our young Wales international, Daniel James, fronted up following the 2-0 loss to Burnley...
KEEPING PERSPECTIVE
“We're looking to improve, yeah, definitely. We know as well we've got our targets and days like this highlight more how well some of them have done so far in the season. Some of the results and performances we've had have been fantastic. Today, that's the second defeat at home, the first since August, and I'd thought we'd turned that corner winning games like this, but we haven't clearly and we will keep chipping away.”
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