Manager looks forward to Capital One Cup start
Pre-season has been and gone, and now for the serious football as United welcome AFC Bournemouth in the newly named Capital One Cup on Tuesday night. Manager Chris Wilder believes his side are more than ready for the competitive start to the season.
He told Yellow Player:
"We are ready. We have worked extremely hard, have had some good results, shown a great attitude and good ability and I think everyone is ready now and looking forward to the first competitive game.
"I think we have done some good business with the players we have here and have a balanced looking squad. Anyone would miss the players of the calibre that we are missing but we have shown the fight and desire to get over that and I have been very impressed by the fight and desire to get over that. We are happy with the work we have done and have been impressed with the quality and the attitude of the players we have brought in.
"It’s a nine month season and there are no guarantees that if you start well anything will happen off the back of that, but we want to get out of the traps quickly, and I am sure we can do that."
United face a well regarded Bournemouth side who are tipped to do well in league One, and Chris expects a decent game of football between two sides committed to attacking football:
"They are a good side and I’d imagine they will be up there in League One. But it’s a good draw for both clubs. They will come and play on a decent pitch but they will be thinking about having to come to a League Two club who are capable of an upset. We will be looking for that. I want us to have a good home record, a good away record, I want us to be defensively tight and organised, and I want us to score goals. It’s important that we start on the front foot and that will be the message to the players: find a way to win a game, whatever way, as long as we score more goals than them and we get through the tie. It’s a good test for the players to pit their wits against some really good players and a good club."
It's the start of a long season, and whatever fate throws at united the Manager is confident they will handle it:
" We will play through all four seasons, through different conditions, different styles and different suspensions and injuries. We have to overcome all of those hurdles but we are ready to do that. There are some teams who everyone fancies and I think we are fancied as well, so we just have to go out there and do it. We may be stinging from last year as well so we have to go and kick start the season and get it going once again.
"I’m excited, I always am going into a new season, there is a lot to look forward to…”
See the whole interview in Yellow Player.
Buy tickets for the game at www.oufctickets.co.uk or by calling 01865 337533