“It’s not football qualities”: Frustrated United star questions his teammates after West Ham setback

Manchester United defender Diogo Dalot appeared to question his teammates following last week’s disappointing draw with West Ham. United stumble vs. West Ham United were unable to build on their comeback win against Crystal Palace as they were held to a 1-1 draw by West Ham on Thursday evening. Ruben Amorim’s men took the lead in the 53rd minute courtesy of Dalot, who reacted the fastest inside the box to fire the ball home. It looked like United were on course for all three points but they were unable to see the game through and allowed Soungoutou Magassa to restore parity with seven minutes of regular time left on the clock. After the final whistle, Amorim could not hide his frustration with the performance and result – sentiments that were echoed by Noussair Mazraoui. Ahead of Monday’s meeting at the Molineux with Wolverhampton Wanderers, Dalot’s thoughts have surfaced, in which the defender appears to be questioning whether his teammates are “obsessed” enough with winning. He also hinted that United’s consistency struggles are not purely down to football reasons. Dalot’s remarks Dalot said [as quoted by the Manchester Evening News], “We are very disappointed. We cannot concede a goal, we have to control more the game. We should have done the same as we did for 60 minutes, and try to score the second. We had the game there.” Asked what was said within the squad, he answered, “Just that feeling – we cannot drop the intentions that we had to score a goal, to go out for the second one, to control even more with the ball. nd when we lose the ball, be in a good position so we don’t suffer counter-attacks.” “Because we knew that today was going to be, for West Ham, the only way of creating danger was going to be second balls, transitions or set plays.” The Portugal international continued, “First of all, I don’t think they [West Ham] are at that [poor] level. Obviously, they have a lower block and you saw how hard it is to get in during 60 minutes. But as soon as we found a way to score a goal, we need to keep doing the same things because that’s what put us in the position to control the game. I think we are dominant even though we conceded one or two transitions that we could have avoided.” “But in the end, they score a goal, it’s not so hard to create chances and put the ball in the net. But then, with 30 minutes to go, we need to fight for the result.” “It’s always like this [needing to put together a run of decent results]. Even after winning three or four games in a row, people will expect you to win five or six or seven. So, we just have to focus on one game, one win at the time. Today, we had a good chance to get closer to the top positions and I think that’s what hurts even more.” Dalot stressed that United cannot afford to let opportunities to climb up the table slip. He emphasised that those kinds of chances should give the team extra impetus to go out and win matches. He further stated, “I think we’ve shown this season that we can be a very good team and we can beat anybody. Then, it’s something that we need to get into ourselves. Sometimes, it’s not football qualities. It has to be from inside. It has to be from the anger and the drive that you have every day to win football games and to live your life like that.” “I think we need to become a bit more obsessed about playing for this club, winning games and winning trophies for this club. But it’s a process. I’m not going to get into the ‘we need time’ thing. I think we have to win straight away because that’s what the club demands. That’s why it hurts sometimes even more when we have opportunities like this and we don’t win.” Amorim recently suggested that neither Dalot nor Patrick Dorgu has nailed down a regular starting berth at left-wing-back. On this, Dalot said that all the players, not just himself and Dorgu, must always seek to improve and be consistent. He explained that the pressure of playing for United is a privilege that must be fully embraced. Feature image Justin Setterfield 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 Derick Kinoti Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the Premier League extensively for years. His work blends sharp analysis, tactical insight, and engaging storytelling that resonates with fans around the world. Derick has gained valuable experience in football journalism, developing strong expertise in SEO writing, digital content creation, and social media engagement. A tech enthusiast with a Computer Science degree from the University of Nairobi, he ultimately swapped code for football commentary, bringing an analytical, detail-oriented approach to his writing. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!