Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says his players have ‘no excuses’ going into a Manchester derby in the Carabao Cup after losing three semi-finals last season.
It included defeat to Manchester City at the same stage of this competition after Manchester United were blown away 3-1 in the first leg at Old Trafford before going out on aggregate after a 1-0 win at the Etihad.
United also lost in the semi-finals of the FA Cup to Chelsea and Europa League to Sevilla as they failed to pick up their first piece of silverware under Solskjaer.
Wednesday’s semi at Old Trafford is a one-legged affair and the United manager believes that his team is better prepared for the challenge this time around.
‘It's always a good question, how important is this game, and then I can answer – very!’ said Solskjaer. ‘The semi-final is a chance to get to the final and for this team getting our hands on a trophy would be a very big step.
‘We’ve developed a lot in the last 12 months since the last semi in the Carabao Cup. It’s not just learning to win semis, we've also earned the right to feel we can go all the way with our performances.
‘We’re confident and going into the game in good form – there are no excuses.
‘You play football to win and to get your hands on trophies. It gives you the hunger to get more.’
Mankin
539
That’s the attitude I want to see from my manager. Coming out before the game and saying there are no excuses, unlike certain other managers who blame their losses on all kinds of excuses and mention other teams’ penalty records to distract people from the fact that their team is underperforming. I’ll be honest and admit that I didn’t think that Ole was the right man to take us forward, but day by day I’m seeing signs that he just might be the right man. At the very least, he holds himself with class unlike all the other managers in this league.
TavaChoo
490
Man City Team B is enough to beat Man Utd
Tosunelson
475
We believe and we will do it this time around, We are UNITED
vahckmpt
239
Rashford should stop selfish, he don’t like pass the ball to other players, sometimes can see others are on open space but he just shoot the ball uncontrolable.....he must stop those nonsense he must learn how to give killers pass and assistance as others do to him.
jehacims
170
ole weather u win or loose we r behind u and we will never be shaken,I known there some fake funs who r wetting for u to loose and bring out bad comments BT they will get tired coz as real man u fans we will be with u in time of luz and win