Bruno Fernandes says the Manchester United players need to focus on their own jobs and not get distracted by speculation surrounding the future of manager Erik ten Hag.
Ten Hag’s position at Old Trafford has looked perilous even before the partial takeover by Jim Ratcliffe, who was at Wembley yesterday as United squandered a 3-0 lead against Championship side Coventry City, survived a narrow offside call that would have almost certainly meant an extra-time defeat before squeezing through on a penalty shoot-out.
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Ratcliffe cannot fail to have been alarmed by the disorganised nature of United’s performance which came on the back of one win in seven league games.
It seems inevitable Ten Hag will be dismissed in the summer but captain Fernandes believes the players need to ignore the noise around the Dutchman.
He told The Guardian: “That doesn’t have to affect anyone because we have to focus on everything we have this season. We still have chances to get in the European positions in the league, we have to finish as high as possible, that’s the main thing, and then we have an FA Cup final to play.
“So no one has to be worried because it’s not our job to be worried with these things that come from the outside or from the inside or whatever because we have the owners who take care of that, we have the directors and then we players…it’s about performing on the pitch and giving our best.”
United will now meet Manchester City in the final for the second year in succession. City won last year 2-1 thanks to Ilkay Gundogan’s brace with Fernandes netting for United from the penalty spot.
“It’s two years in a row we have reached a final, we know how difficult it is to get to the final of the FA Cup. Obviously we wanted to get there in a different way,” added the Portugal midfielder.
“For the first 70 minutes, we were so good, we controlled the game and then obviously well done from them, they believed, they gave everything they could to get back to the game and they did it.
“At the end, they got some lucky goals but at the same time, we have to give credit to them.”
