MANCHESTER: Manchester United interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy believes his side can bounce back from their worst start to the season after seeing his team’s spirit shown in the two games since Erik ten Hag was sacked.
Moises Caicedo’s second-half strike cancelled out United’s early penalty for a 1-1 draw in the Premier League clash at Old Trafford.
Despite not managing to collect full points, Van Nistelrooy said there were positives to take from the match.
“We take the lead first and the performance, with the spirit shown, is the basis for building a team… then the quality of football will emerge.
“That is the basis needed to build it, and there is still a lot of time to improve the position,” said Van Nistelrooy.
The draw saw United climb one place, to 13th after 10 games.
Van Nistelrooy said, since the day Ten Hag was fired, the situation has been very difficult for the team.
“Six days, emotions up and down, obviously very sad to see Erik go, the next day you have to focus again for the game against Leicester (Wednesday’s 5-2 League Cup win), because 75,000 fans will be at Old Trafford, so we have a responsibility , and the players realize they need to do better,” he said.
United’s nine goals in 10 games, the third-worst in the league, is their lowest tally at this level since the 1973-74 league campaign.