Andre Onana has revealed that Manchester United’s dressing room is taking responsibility and trying to correct “mistakes” to avoid a poor start to the season.
Manager Erik ten Hag has faced scrutiny and speculation over his job security, but in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports News, goalkeeper Onana revealed that United players are not leaving it to the coaching staff to find solutions to their shortcomings.
Onana said there is regular dialogue between the squad to fix the problems that have left them 12th in the Premier League table and without a win in Europe.
“We talk about everything,” said the Cameroon international. “We talk about goals, we talk about fouls, we talk about free kicks. We talk about angles, how to defend and how to attack.
“At the end of the day, when we walk on the field, it’s about winning.
“A clean sheet for the defenders and as a goalkeeper is the first thing we have to think about. If we keep zero, our forwards, they will score. And (Marcus) Rashford sometimes when we score, he looks like me, ‘Andre , now it’s your turn’ and he told me the same – but in a good way, because we’re together.
“When they count, we are very happy because we are involved in this together. We make sure that even in terms of construction, we have to try to build the best way to give space.
“Now if Rashford is one with the defender, for us it helps the speed, he can make a difference. So we try to always talk about everything and see what is best for the team.”
Onana revolves around this togetherness and willingness to maintain perspective as the core for the team to not be distracted by the external distractions around United.
“We stay together – as a footballer and as an ordinary person, you know in life you will always have difficulties,” he said.
“You will pass, you never know when but until you are there, you have to fight your way out.
“And we as players, when there are problems, we stick together because only together we can overcome them.
“We have shown in the past that we can beat anyone. So we didn’t start the season the way we wanted, but together we can change everything. temporarily.
“You don’t always win and you don’t always lose. So we have to find a good balance and keep going because at the end of the day, it’s about winning games.
“That’s what we train hard every day and it’s important to stay together because if we’re not together, it’s better not to go on the field.”
Onana says he doesn’t care about the ongoing criticism at United. “That’s the price you have to pay when you play for a big club,” he said.
“You always hear about Manchester United, about Real Madrid, about Barcelona…fingers are pointed everywhere.
“And what people think and what people say, that’s not something I can control. So we just focus on practice, the game, the game plan and winning the game because that’s the main priority.
“What other people think, we can’t control – I wish we could control everything, but it’s not for us. So we just let them speak and we’re still in a democracy so everyone can say whatever they want. try to take sides positive because it’s important to us.”
United face a tough end to October with three games in six days, starting against Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce in the Europa League on Thursday night.
The top-flight battle takes place at West Ham before United host Leicester in the Carabao Cup and Onana believes his team-mates are poised for an uptick on the back of victory over Brentford.
“When you win it’s always good, victory always brings a good mood, great energy,” he said.
“It’s extra motivation, especially at the moment with how important it is for us to win in Turkey. So we want to be there to win.
“We have three big competitions, we just have to be ourselves, have a good rest and get ready for the games.”
Onana believes United’s focus on being tougher to beat and better off not owning will help them through the tax schedule.
“We’re more compact, we have more control and that’s what we’re looking for,” he said.
“And I think this is the way we have to go. We will continue to improve and our defense is very good. So now we have to go to the next step.
“The approach is always the same because we are used to doing this for many years, but we also have to be pragmatic because it is not only about us, you also have to react to the opponent. And in football, you have many things. – also in life which doesn’t just depend on you like sometimes with the referee’s decision You have to deal with the situation and move on.
“You have a lot of enemies who don’t even want to force us in rebuilding. Then for them, it’s like a waste of time. The decline shows respect for us. And yes, that’s what we want.
“When I came here, he told me: ‘Andre, we have to be a dominant team.’ And the dominant team is the team that will bear the risk…
“It’s about how we can learn from our mistakes and not change our philosophy because it’s so easy to change everything when something bad happens.