Rio Ferdinand says Manchester United’s senior defenders will be responsible for helping Andre Onana out of his early slump at Old Trafford.
The former centre-back was marshalling United’s defence when a young David de Gea arrived in 2011. Much like Onana, the former Spain international did not settle in immediately and the key, Ferdinand says from that experience, is for team-mates to make new goalkeepers feel appreciated and ease off the criticism when mistakes occur.
“When they make a good save it’s about reassuring them, when they make a mistake it’s about not berating them. There will be times when you have to berate someone like that but when you know someone was young and fragile, like David was, you’ve got to be clever around those situations.
He wanted to feel his team-mates had confidence. If your team-mates have confidence in you, f*** what anyone else has said. That’s what the experienced players at Man United have to do now, rally around.”
Yet from his brief interactions with Onana, Ferdinand believes the Cameroon international has enough self-belief to emerge stronger from his tough time. He added: “He looks like a confident kid. I’ve spoken to him a couple of times and he seems confident. Mistakes are part of it. He understands that.
Rio Ferdinand was speaking ahead of Manchester United v Copenhagen, exclusively live on TNT Sports.
Erik ten Hag’s team are under pressure to deliver against Copenhagen.
“But we have to remember that he’s not a goalkeeper who hasn’t had these moments before. He’s made mistakes and come back. He’s played for Inter Milan in a champions league inal, he’s played for Ajax in the Europa league final.
He’s been there before, having made mistakes, rebuilt, and tried again. I believe he can pull it off. He is built of the proper materials. According to the staff, “you can tell he has the character for this, so forget about ability.” On Tuesday, October 24, at 7 p.m., watch Man Utd vs. Copenhagen live exclusively on TNT Sports 2. TNT Sports is accessible on all major TV platforms and via its streaming destination discovery+. This is everything; it’s not just sport. Information can be found at tntsports.co.uk/football. Come chat with us on WhatsApp now! To get your recommended daily dose of Mirror Football content, click this link. Additionally, we treat the people in our community to exclusive deals, promotions, and advertisements from us and our associates. If you’re not fond of
Leave a Reply