Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes acknowledges they are far from where they want to be as a team, as the under-fire Red Devils prepare to host Chelsea on Wednesday.
United sit seventh in the Premier League table ahead of the Blues’ visit to Old Trafford, having suffered a demoralising 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United last time out.
That result came just three days after a chaotic 3-3 draw with Galatasaray left the Red Devils’ UEFA Champions League hopes hanging by a thread, with Erik ten Hag’s team now needing to beat Bayern Munich on matchday six and hope Galatasaray draw with Copenhagen in order to reach the last 16.
A report from Sky Sports on Monday claimed boss Erik ten Hag has lost the support of up to half of United’s players, while Red Devils great Gary Neville said on Saturday that he was ‘bored’ of watching the team.
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The next few weeks could be decisive for United’s season, with games against Chelsea, Bayern and Liverpool taking place before they face fellow top-four hopefuls Aston Villa on Boxing Day.
While Fernandes knows United’s recent displays have not been good enough, he says they will only improve by taking things one game at a time.
“We’re not in the place we want to be in the league, everyone knows that,” the United skipper told the club’s media channels.
“So if you want to get into that place, if you want to improve that position, then you have to win the game you have ahead of you.
“At the moment, we just have to look game by game because we know we are not in the position we want to be.
“Focusing game by game is what we can control at the moment and we can’t look too much at the table.
“You can look too much at the future and not do the present right. We have to raise ourselves for the next challenge we have ahead.”
Coming soon: #MUNCHE 💪🔴#MUFC || #PL
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 4, 2023
