Manchester United midfielder Nemanja Matic has admitted the club are ‘desperate’ to return to action against Newcastle United following their recent schedule disruption. Matic has outlined how eager Ralph Rangnick’s men are to play and insisted the squad is capable of meeting the demands of their new interim boss.
Nemanja Matić said: “Of course, we are desperate to play. As you know we had some issues with Covid. Finally, we are all back. We are ready. Sometimes it’s good to have a break but it’s never good time to have Covid. We prefer to play.’ We understand his ideas and what he wants to play. It’s a bit of everything, not just pressing. You must be physically ready and play well tactically. We have enough talent in the squad to understand quickly and play how he wants.”
Matic has, however, warned of the fight Newcastle will show in their quest to stave off relegation to the Championship. Eddie Howe’s side occupy 19th place in the Premier League table, level on points with rock-bottom Norwich City and a point behind 18th-placed Burnley even though the Clarets have played three less games.
Nemanja Matic said: “Now there are a lot of teams who see their chance to win. All teams have improved a lot and buy top-class players. The Premier League is very hard to play, more than 15 years ago. We want to finish of course in the top four and to win the Champions League and the FA Cup. We will see but that’s our target. These games we are favourites but we must show it on the pitch. Newcastle are in a bad position but they are a big club with big players and they will fight to stay in the league.”
The Magpies will host Manchester United at 8pm on Monday 27 December for the only Premier League fixture taking place that day.
