Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Robben tells Memphis it’s ‘not always sunshine’ in England
ARJEN ROBBEN has told Memphis Depay he must find resolve within to overcome a difficult start to his Manchester United career.
The Bayern Munich winger will offer Depay advice on how to make his time in England a success, but said the 21-year-old needed to establish the right mentality himself to succeed.
Louis van Gaal’s £25 million summer signing has been dropped in favour of academy graduate Jesse Lingard recently and appears to be struggling to adapt to a new country or his manager’s methods.
Robben joined Chelsea aged 20 – like Depay from PSV Eindhoven – and had to wait until October to make his debut because of injury, but became a hit as soon as he played.
Despite frequent spells on the sidelines he was a popular figure among fans and won two Premier League titles, two League Cups and an FA Cup before joining Real Madrid.
After promising initially, Depay at present looks some way off replicating that level of attainment in England and Robben said he would offer words of encouragement during their camp together with Holland.
“Of course I will give him advice,” said the 31-year-old. “We try to help each other as players and the team to make steps. He is a talented player in a difficult situation, I can give him advice but the player has to cope with it, show strength and the right mentality.
“It is important in your development as a player, it is not always sunshine, you have difficult periods, especially when you are young. He has long way ahead and if he shows the right mentality, the talent is there. If he keeps working hard I am sure he can succeed.”
Robben was set to start the match against Wales last night, which he believes provides a fresh start for his country after a disastrous Euro 2016 qualifying campaign.
Now national captain, he insisted the friendly fixture was important and revealed he had gone against the wishes of his club to turn up.
“It matters to me, I am here,” said Robben, who missed two months earlier this season with a thigh injury.
“We had a good conversation about it with the coach. Bayern would prefer me to stay at the club and stabilise my physical condition but I wanted to be here. We are building something new.”
The last time Holland played Wales was in June 2014, ahead of their successful World Cup campaign in Brazil. The Welsh had endured a disappointing campaign of their own and Robben scored in a 2-0 win in Amsterdam.
“It is funny how things work sometimes,” Robben added. “The situation is different, they are going to the Euros we are not, it is painful but it is down to us. The only thing we can do is try and restart and rebuild. It is not nice to say but we have to start again and prepare for September 2016.
“It is a long way off but we have to cope with that reality, get some good results out of the upcoming games. These are the games we have to try and use to turn it around.” – Daily Mail