James: We must improve quickly
Defeat darkens mood as Welsh winger tells struggling Manchester United to keep fighting
>> LONDON: Daniel James admitted Manchester United’s performance against Burnley “simply wasn’t good enough” after an embarrassing defeat that darkened the mood at the troubled club.
Burnley triumphed at Old Trafford on Wednesday for the first time since 1962, with Chris Wood and Jay Rodriguez scoring in a 2-0 win.
United have now lost more Premier League games than they have won since Solskjaer’s permanent appointment in March and are 33 points behind leaders Liverpool, who also have one game in hand on their rivals.
The Norwegian boss reportedly retains the backing of the United hierarchy despite the club’s dismal run, but Wales winger James knows they must improve quickly.
“Obviously disappointing,” James said following the defeat. “Today obviously wasn’t good enough. We know that and obviously the fans know that as well.
“We need to, as a team, take chances better. Today we had quite a number of shots.”
James bemoaned a lack of cutting edge during a promising United start that quickly unravelled, with Solskjaer’s side mustering little response to Burnley’s goals either side of half-time.
Rodriguez’s stunner early in the second half led to renewed, furious chants calling for owners the Glazers and executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward to leave, with thousands of fans rising to their feet as “Stand up if you hate Glazers”
echoed around the ground.
There were jeers at the final whistle but there was still support for Solskjaer and the players between songs aimed at the
club hierarchy.
“I think every week, home and away, they cheer us on and stick by us,” said James. “We’re obviously going to react to this. We know that
wasn’t good enough today.”
United have a frantic fixture schedule coming up, with an FA Cup fourth-round tie against Tranmere tomorrow.
A trip to Manchester City for the second leg of the League Cup semi-final, a match they head into 3-1 down, follows on Wednesday, before attention turns to narrowing the gap to the top four, with United still fifth. “I think that’s obviously still up for grabs,” James said of the Champions League spots. “We’ve got to keep fighting.
“We’ll reflect on this game and then see what obviously went wrong today. Then we’ve got two big cup games coming up. We’ve got to go into that with heads held high.”
TRANMERE SHOCK WATFORD
Third tier Tranmere knocked last season’s FA Cup finalists Watford out of the competition on Thursday with a 2-1 win after extra time in a third round replay.
The first match between the clubs finished 3-3 after Tranmere recovered from a 3-0 deficit, and last week’s scheduled replay was pushed back after heavy rain made the pitch unplayable.
Tranmere are struggling in the League One relegation zone but grabbed the lead in the first half at Prenton Park when Emmanuel Monthe volleyed home at a corner.
Watford, who lost 6-0 to Manchester City in the last year’s final, equalised on 68 minutes through substitute Kaylen Hinds after he drilled through a crowd of players. Paul Mullin headed in the winner on 104 minutes as Tranmere set up a fourth round clash at home to 12-time champions Manchester United tomorrow.