Mata admits Manchester United in a ‘complicated’ spell

Rob Conlon
Juan Mata: Linked with West Ham switch

Juan Mata: Linked with West Ham switch

Juan Mata admits Manchester United were unconvincing against Sheffield United but thinks they should be given credit as the club is going through a “complicated” spell. 

United scraped past the League One outfit thanks to a late Wayne Rooney penalty, causing Paul Scholes to suggest the players looked “bored” under the management of Louis van Gaal.

And Mata accepts the performance was not good enough, but takes encouragement from the fact United are now starting to turn results around, following an eight-match spell without a win.

“We’re beginning a week with two Premier League games and we will try to extend the good run of results of the last few days,” Mata wrote on his blog for the club’s official website.

“It’s true that the FA Cup game was not the greatest in the world, but right now, after some complicated weeks we have gone through, I think we have to give credit to each of our victories.

“It’s not easy to find spaces when you play against teams with so many players defending near the box, but we know we must play better and we will keep having good results. The positive thing of this game is that the team kept fighting until the end and that’s how we got Wayne’s goal.

“The FA Cup is a special competition and you see surprises every year. We are looking forward to new Cup ties.

“We go to Newcastle now and to Liverpool on the weekend, in one of the main games of our season. These are two difficult away games but we want to keep moving towards our goals. Winning both would be a huge boost of confidence now that the second half of the season is starting.”