Manchester United had a poor performance in Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Sunderland, but manager Senne Lamence insists he is still motivated despite having little playing time.
Senne Lamence speaks after the draw against Sunderland (Image: MUTV)
Manager Senne Lamence has urged his Manchester United team-mates to get better ahead of the final two games of the season after their side’s disappointing draw with Sunderland. United were drawn 0-0 at the Stadium of Light and Lamence was at his best.
The visitors did not have a shot on target until stoppage time, when Matheus Cunha fired straight at Robin Rufus. And Lamence had to be on guard as United’s goalkeeper made good saves to deny Noah Sadiqi and Brian Brobbey.
The under-par result comes after manager Michael Carrick made five changes to his starting XI following last weekend’s 3-2 win against Liverpool, which sealed their place in next season’s Champions League.
United sit third in the Premier League with two games remaining against Nottingham Forest and Brighton, with no chance of leapfrogging second-placed Manchester City and little chance of catching fourth-placed Liverpool.
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read more: Manchester United vs. Sunderland player rating: Senne Lamence shines but 4/10 stars are disappointing
Still, Lamence believes he still has plenty to play for. “Given the way Sunderland have played this season, we had to work very hard to keep them clean sheets,” he told Premier League Productions.
“We always knew it was going to be a difficult game. We weren’t at our best in terms of quality of the ball, but the most important thing was probably not to concede goals and to work together as a team defensively. We’ll be able to take some good points from it.”
“For us, these games are still important games because we want to finish as high as possible and with as many points as possible. But it will be a tough game away against Sunderland because they are a good side who work well together. So I don’t think it was our day with the ball, but we can be proud of what we did without it.”
Senne Lamence kept Sunderland at bay (Image: Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Asked about his mindset for the remaining two games, Lamence added: “We can’t stop here. We know the Champions League was our main goal, but we want to finish with as many points as possible. We want to finish with a good feeling to build up for next season, so we know how important this last game is for that.”
“It is important to play every game and get a result. We will try to win every game as much as possible. We want to give back to the fans who have supported us so much this season.”
“The manager has told us that this season is not over yet. We qualify for the Champions League, but we also want to finish in third place. We don’t want to finish below third and we want to keep other teams away from us. I hope that our team thinks the same way as me, and I think so.”
Carrick said as much in his post-match interview with Sky Sports. “I gave it my all this week,” he stressed. “We have our last home game of the season this week, so we’ll be working towards that. We’re looking forward to it. It’s important to finish the season on a strong note, and I think today was a positive for us.”
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