Manchester United defender Ashley Young has sent a strong message to his team-mates ahead of this week’s big derby clash with Manchester City.
The Red Devils take on their local rivals at Old Trafford on Wednesday night in what is a crucial game for both teams’ seasons.
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United need three points to boost their fading top four hopes, while City will be desperate for a victory to put them a step closer to retaining their Premier League crown.
Young has spoken ahead of the game and made it clear that United players need to be up for this game or there’s something wrong inside the club.
‘We’ve just got to apologise to the fans and we’ve got a tough one coming up on Wednesday with the Manchester derby,’ Young told MUTV, as quoted by the Metro.
‘We know how important that’s going to be. If you can’t get yourselves up for the Manchester derby, there’s something wrong.
‘I’ve got confidence that we’re going to be ready for Wednesday. It’s a disappointing day today but we’ve got to dust ourselves down fairly quickly and go again this week.’
The 33-year-old came on at half time of the 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Everton at the weekend, and while many fans will question if he’s still really good enough to play regularly for the club, few can doubt his leadership qualities and commitment to the cause.
United fans will now be hoping Young’s words can inspire some kind of response on Wednesday night – even if it does mean giving rivals Liverpool a real boost to their own title hopes!