GARY WITH A WAKE UP CALL

Last updated : 31 October 2003 By Editor
Gary Neville on MUTV:

"There are times in a 38-game season you are not going to be
100%. But certain things have to remain in place - one of
them being good defending. We worked hard against Fulham but
perhaps we need to be a bit more wise.

"When we realise we are not playing well we should close up
shop and play old-fashioned football, an ugly type of game.
We are not scoring enough goals at the moment for us to
defend badly. I cannot believe Fulham got through us as much
as they did.

"We are a rhythm team and we didn't get our rhythm going
against Fulham. At the end of the game Roy will make the
most amount of passes for our team. Everything goes through
him. Paul will also be available for a pass. They are big
players for us."

He also spoke of the Fulham match, and the need to improve
when Portsmouth arrive tomorrow:

“The Fulham game was an aberration. It was bad, it was poor
and there's not words to describe it. We just did not defend
well. We didn't play well either.

"We haven't been playing well enough, we haven't been
playing the free-flowing football that's going to get us
that four or five goals that we'd have needed last Saturday
after the way we defended.

"We can't afford that against Portsmouth because this is
another team that's surprised a lot of teams this year.

"They're two very similar teams, Fulham and Portsmouth in
that they've got players that can hurt you.

"They've got players like Teddy Sheringham, who we know, and
players like Patrick Berger who've been around the block.
"They've not got any inexperience in their ranks, so they
won't be fazed by going to Old Trafford and we've got to
make sure we're really on our game."