Matic demands big buys to match rivals

NEMANJA MATIC has ordered Manchester United to spend big and stop their rivals claiming all the silverware again next season.

United’s crushing defeat to Chelsea in the FA Cup Final on Saturday left Jose Mourinho’s men with nothing to polish from a trophyless campaign.

Mourinho tried to put on a brave face afterwards by insisting United were the better side and had still made progress in the last 12 months.

But the truth is, United have been second best too often – and finishing runners-up in two of four competitions this season is not what is demanded at Old Trafford.

Winning is all that counts to United, because no-one remembers who came second.

It might take United’s power brokers a while to forget, though, judging by the disgruntled look on the faces of vice-chairman Ed Woodward and his fellow executives as they sloped away from Wembley on Saturday.

Ploughed

But according to Matic, Woodward holds the key to the team’s chances of bouncing back next season.

Mourinho signed a new contract in January that will keep him at Old Trafford until 2020.

But Matic believes Woodward needs to keep signing the cheques that will bring world-class stars to Manchester if United are to start lifting trophies again.

Mourinho has ploughed through more than £300m on Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku, Eric Bailly, Victor Lindelof and Matic since taking charge in 2016.

But Matic reckons United need more quality and class.

He said: “With a few more good players in the squad we can fight for the title, and I’m sure we will do that.

“We need some more good players with experience, to bring more qualities to the team.

“If we can do this, then we can fight for the title and the Champions League. Of course, if you don’t win one year then there is always more pressure on you in the next one.

“This is football. This is normal for a club like Manchester United.”

Mourinho claimed he was curious to see what the media would make of United in the wake of their defeat.

If he is looking for positives he will be disappointed, because United have not been good enough this season.

Their performance in the final encapsulated the whole campaign, with United dominating possession but failing to produce an end product.

United missed Lukaku, who was restricted to a cameo appearance from the bench due to an ankle problem, which Mourinho did little to hide his annoyance about.

The curious case of Pogba continues to perplex, while Marcus Rashford and Alexis Sanchez flattered to deceive.

Throwing money at bridging the gap between them and Manchester City offers no guarantees, because Pep Guardiola’s champions appear to be the complete team, while Mourinho’s look like a group of individuals struggling to gel.

The most pressing issue for Mourinho is getting performances from Pogba and Sanchez as big as their egos.

Matic knows United need to find that killer instinct again and added: “We were the better side, but if you can’t score the goals you can’t win.

“I think we’ve improved. We were sixth last year and now we are second and the only team better than us is Manchester City.

“We have to accept this, but try to get better and win some trophies.

“In some games we have been better in the second half than the first, so we have to try to play for 90 minutes.

“Of course, when you win trophies like this, you feel better. The most important thing now is to look ahead and do our best.

“We have to be focused on the next challenges.”