REMEMBER, 


FAN-TASTIC: The Old Trafford faithful has stood by a stuttering Manchester United this season.

CARRY ON:

Michael Carrick 
(far left) and Adnan Januzaj celebrating after the latter's goal against Fulham.

3 PLAYERS HAVE TO PUT 
CLUB BEFORE SELF

Every footballer has individual concerns and fears and that's entirely understandable.

Careers can be made or broken in a matter of months and upheaval brings uncertainty to everyone.

But the priority now has to be Manchester United.

There can be no room for back-biting, whining or navel-gazing.

These players are paid a fortune to represent one of the biggest clubs on the planet.

They need to prove that they are worthy of that honour.

At the moment, too many of them are too concerned about themselves.

The club have to come first.

2 NO MORE SILLY MISTAKES

United have had enough bad luck without compounding it with avoidable errors.

From a team you could always back to get out of trouble in the dying moment, they have become a side who seem intent on playing themselves into it.

A lack of confidence is the obvious conclusion, but there's a real fear factor here as well.

That fear is misplaced. There's no point worrying about it all going wrong. It has all gone wrong.

In a way, United's wretched form should give them the freedom to play without pressure.

5 LISTEN TO THE FANS

The Manchester United supporters have been incredible this season.

Two decades of runaway success is about to come to an abrupt halt, but they've continued to back their team and their manager all the way.

It is support that certain people scarcely warrant.

Tomorrow morning, thousands of them will be in the Emirates Stadium, having made a long, expensive trip to London.

If the United players cannot be inspired and strengthened by their loyalty, then they should pack up their boots and go home.

There's no saving them.

4 PLAYERS HAVE TO 
TRUST EACH OTHER

These are the players who won the Premier League last season.

These are the players who finished 11 points clear of Manchester City. But somehow, they've forgotten it.

You can see the tensions in the camp, the lack of faith evident in their play.

They're too conservative, too scared to play as we know they can.

They don't express themselves anymore and they look terrified when they lose possession.

David Moyes is right, they are mentally weak. That's something we never used to say about this team. The players need to stand up and prove themselves.

ARSENAL v 
MAN UNITED

(Tomorrow, 3.45am, 
SingTel mio TV Ch 102 & StarHub TV Ch 227)

YOU'RE THE

CHAMPIONS

npsports@sph.com.sg

1 VARY THE PLAY

Even a team as limited and low on confidence as Fulham will have a chance of defending the same assault plan again and again and again.

There is nothing wrong with a good cross, it's a time-honoured means of chance creation but, when you're unleashing over 80 of them every game, it becomes a little predictable.

United have players who can play through the middle.

They need to use them. If for no other reason than just to give Arsenal something different to think about.

Trust Juan Mata, Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney. They will deliver.

For the last couple of years, Mata has probably been the best player in the league... We were very lucky that he wasn't in Chelsea's plans, and only we can benefit from him now.

- Ex-Man United midfielder Paul Scholes on Juan Mata EPL