Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes claims first team must “step up” to help young players | OneFootball

Manchester United need to continue to help young players flourish according to captain, Bruno Fernandes.

The Red Devils have not had much to shout about this season and this was on full show once again yesterday afternoon as United failed to hold onto yet another lead as they conceded a late penalty against Burnley at Old Trafford.

The result ends United’s stumbling attempts to reach a Champions League spot for next season and leaves the Red Devils with an uphill task to secure Europa League football, with Newcastle breathing down their necks.

However, the side’s commitment to youth has shone through in this campaign and this was seen in Ethan Wheatley becoming the 250th academy graduate to make his debut for the first team last week.

Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo have also established themselves as two of the first names on the team sheet and despite their form dipping as of late due to the exhaustion of their first full season in the league, they have given hope to United fans in a season of darkness.

Captain Bruno Fernandes spoke to the club’s official website about the importance of looking after the younger players and said that it is the role of the first team to create the environment for the academy players to flourish when given the opportunity.

“At this club, you are used to having young players coming through the Academy and you’re used to the club buying young players that they feel can have a future at the club. You just mentioned two of them (Garnacho and Mainoo)”.

“They’ve been playing most and they’ve been doing well. They’ve been doing great things”.

“But, when the team is playing better, it’s going to create an even better place for them to [continue their] development and to be a better player. To be in a better place, being more confident, having more trust and playing even better”.

“Even if they’re doing well, I think there is always space for improvement for everyone, but obviously when the team improves, everyone else improves individually”.

However, Fernandes was not all praise, as he claimed that both players had bad moments and they need to develop greater consistency if they are to make it at the very top level.

“I think the team needs to step up in certain moments to also make them feel confident to have their bad moments, their bad games, or even to let them have less pressure on themselves to be the players that have to make the difference in certain moments”.

“I think they’ve been really good; they’ve been improving themselves. It’s just the first steps. They need to keep going, because obviously the expectations are going to grow, game by game, season by season”.

Fernandes has had his critics as captain of United but whether it be playing through the pain barrier, being the most creative player in the Premier League or inspiring the youngsters, the Portuguese has really stepped up the last few weeks of the season for his side.

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