BRUNO FERNANDES admits he is going into 2021 hungry to win trophies.
The Portugal international has become a talisman for Manchester United since he joined in January last year.
Bruno Fernandes is confident Manchester United are capable of mounting sustained challenges in all competitionsCredit: Getty
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s troops are three points behind league leaders LiverpoolCredit: Reuters
He has helped Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men make great progress – but the club has not won a trophy for more than three years now.
However things are starting to look more promising – with the Red Devils fighting on four fronts in the coming months.
A win over Aston Villa on New Year’s Day would put them level on points with current leaders and champions Liverpool at the top.
And that would set them up perfectly for the Carabao Cup semi-final clash with Manchester City next week.
Fernandes has won plenty of plaudits for his performances since he arrived from Sporting Lisbon – but it is silverware that he wants.
He said: “The 11 months for me here, have been great. Of course, the main thing I want – which I didn’t achieve until now – is the trophies. That is clear.
“But we really can do that in 2021 and I think at the end of everything, what we did in the last 11 months was really good.”
United reached three semi-finals last season but ended the season empty-handed.
They go into the New Year still fighting on four fronts – and Fernandes wants it to stay that way.
He said: “I will say, every time, the same thing for me. At the beginning of the season, I said we have to fight in all the competitions we are in.
“Now it is still the same. We’ll look for the Carabao Cup as the main one.
“After that, we have to achieve trophies. It’s all about trophies – the Carabao Cup, the FA Cup, in the Europa League and the league.
“We have to go for all of them. We have the team to do that and the qualities to do that.
“You have to believe until it is not more possible, that you can fight for all of them. If we win trophies, it is the most important thing.”
Fernandes had a rare off night against Wolves in midweek but still ended up setting up the injury-time winner for Marcus Rashford.
However, his all-round performances mean he will at least be in the frame for the individual awards when the season ends.
That is not what he is focussed on though, saying: “Of course, it’s good for a player to win awards.
“I will never say ‘I don’t want to be the best player in the league’ or ‘I don’t want to be the PFA Player of the Season’.
“I want to be that but I want to be that if the team wins trophies. If the team does win trophies, for me, it’s the same.
“For me, the most important thing is to help my team-mates to also be Player of the Season.
“That’s the most important thing because, if someone from the club is Player of the Season, it means that we do very, very well this season.
“I think we will always be happy if someone else takes an individual award because it means the team is doing well.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
