United midfielder not blaming managerial change for poor results.
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Manchester United midfielder Ryan Giggs has played down suggestions that the club are suffering since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson, and believes it is down to the players to improve their form, according to the Guardian.
The Welshman has been a key player for United for over 20 years now, and has called for calm after the Premier League champions have endured an inconsistent start to the new season.
Despite winning the title last year, the retirement of Ferguson and appointment of David Moyes as his replacement has seen the club come under increased scrutiny and pressure from some quarters.
However, Giggs believes this isn’t even the hardest season he’s had in his long career, and believes the inconsistent nature of the team’s rivals mean there should be an opportunity to catch them up at the top of the table.
The 39-year-old also stressed that the change of management is not an excuse for some poor form from certain players in the team, and believes there will need to be some improvement in that area.
“Sir Alex was a great manager and a great influence on the team and the club. You are going to miss someone like that,” he said.
“But I don’t think that is an excuse when individuals aren’t playing as well as they can. We are not playing well as a team. We haven’t got injury problems as we have had in the past. There is no excuse.
“It hasn’t been a great start to the season but the good thing about that is we have plenty of time to turn it round. We know what this club is like, it is ups and downs and we don’t get carried away if we are flying and we don’t get carried away when we are not playing well. I can’t put my finger on what has happened. We have just not played as well as we can, both individually and as a team.
“It is a weird season. City have been beaten twice. Nobody has hit the ground running who we’d have expected to. Obviously Arsenal are playing well, Tottenham and Liverpool are at the top, but there is enough time for us to turn it round and get back to the top and stay there.
“It’s not the most difficult season I’ve had in my career,” he stated. “There have been topsy-turvy seasons in the past. I have been in the team for 20-odd years and I have seen more or less everything. You would rather be showing this form at the start of the season than at the end.”
The veteran midfielder is now a part-time member of the coaching staff at Old Trafford as well as a player.