Pereira: ‘We’re getting better all the time...’
Brazilian star says Reds will be ‘even stronger’ next season
ANDREAS Pereira believes United will be ‘much stronger’ next season after making encouraging progress under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The Reds experienced a mixed start to the current season but embarked on an incredible 11-match unbeaten prior to football’s postponement last month.
During that run United kept nine clean sheets as they closed the gap on the Premier League top four as well as securing progress in both the FA Cup and Europa League.
Solskjaer’s side have already proven many critics wrong with their recent run of form and Pereira believes this is only the start of more good things to come.
“The manager has always said that it’s not going to change in one year – it needs time,” Pereira told ESPN.
“You see now it’s one year after he took over officially and you can see already the progress we have made as a team.
“We’ve had a lot of injured players, but we still coped.
“We are still playing for two trophies and we can reach the top four. Everybody said in the beginning of the season that was impossible for us.
“For Man United, we know we have to challenge for all the trophies, but we are rebuilding and we will get there.
“We’re strong now and I’m sure next season, when we start, we will be much stronger again.”
Pereira has been an integral part of the first-team this season, with only Harry Maguire and Fred having featured more times this campaign, and the Brazilian midfielder is hoping to prove his worth as an attacking midfielder in years to come.
He added: “The start of the season was good for me – I started a lot of games. In December and January, I felt a bit tired because I’d played a lot of games in a row. I had to cope with that. It was the first season, really, that I did that at United. “I’ve played a lot of different positions, and when I’ve played in my favourite position as an attacking midfielder, I played well, I was important and created a lot of occasions. That’s my goal: to play in my position more often and show the manager I can be important there.”
Pereira also says it is now time for him to ‘kick on and play better’ for United after a mixed start to his life as a senior player.
The Brazilian midfielder has recently fallen down the pecking order following the arrival of Bruno Fernandes.
Last summer Solskjaer backed both Pereira and Scott McTominay to fill the midfield void left by the departing Ander Herrera,
For Man United, we know we have to challenge for trophies, we will get there
Andreas Pereira
and he has stayed true to his word.
The 24-year-old is eager to push on with his development at Old Trafford and admits he is yet to fulfil his true potential playing at the club.
“I don’t think I’ve shown my full potential yet,” Pereira said.
“When I’m playing more freely, I can show my real quality. This season, I really feel that the manager and the players can trust me to do my best for the team. I’m there. I will never hide. I will always show my face for the manager and for the club. It’s really a year for me to show that I’m here and now it’s time to kick on and play better.”