“We are always…”: United star makes it very clear what caretaker manager’s first job will be

Manchester United failed at the first hurdle once again, this time in the FA Cup, as they exited the competition at the hands of Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday. A 1-2 defeat means the Red Devils will not play more than 40 games this season, the first time this will occur since the 1914/15 campaign. Darren Fletcher selected an attacking side, with as many as three attacking midfielders, and the home side should have scored through Diogo Dalot and Benjamin Sesko, but both fluffed their lines. The Slovenian did get on the scoresheet towards the dying embers of the game, but by then, it was too little too late. United’s biggest problem at the moment The loss showed what a humongous job the new caretaker manager has on his hands. While the team has shown they have the ability to score, defensively they remain as fragile as ever. Something Dalot agreed with. In his post-match interview with TNT Sports (via the United website), the Portuguese ace said, “Yeah, I think that’s something obviously that we have to look for. “We are in the phase where every attack that they [the opponents] have has to be a big threat to us. We’re conceding so many less shots on target, and we conceded one goal at least every game. We are always a threat. But then, where we stand for defending, I think we have to have a little bit more urgency as a team.” Sacking Ruben Amorim midway through the season has been tough on the squad, as the right-back explained. He also was adamant that the hosts should have won tonight. Difficult spell “It has been really difficult. It’s always a period that you have to find ways to solve problems really quickly. We have to adapt and go again. “The red card gave us a disadvantage because we were on top of Brighton in the last moments. Overall, very disappointed because we wanted to go through. All the lads kept trying to find spaces, like I said, really disappointed because I think we deserved to win.” The team cannot dawdle for too long on this result as they have the Manchester derby up next in the Premier League. Diogo Dalot urged his teammates to work together to overcome this rough patch and get their league campaign back on track. Diogo Dalot looking forward to Manchester derby “We have to find ways to overcome this. To find energy between each other, to come to training, be professional, try to give your best during the week, and to prepare for a big game, as we know that these types of games can change momentum. “[It] can give the crowd a bit more energy to get us through. But to be honest, credit to them. Because even today in the difficult period, they [the fans] are always pushing us forward.” Feature image Jan Kruger via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Ayantan Chowdhury After failing to become a professional footballer, Ayantan switched to the next best thing: writing about the greatest football club in the world. He has extensive sports journalism experience, having worked for over 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25