17 September,2016 12:59 PM IST | | PA Sport
Chris Smalling terms Man United’s 0-1 loss to Feyenoord as unacceptable; urges teammates to make turnaround against Watford in EPL on Sunday
Rotterdam: Chris Smalling says Manchester United's players need to stand up and be counted to avoid an
"unacceptable" third successive defeat.
The 2-1 home defeat to Pep Guardiola's Manchester City was compounded as Feyenoord eked out a late 1-0 win in Thursday's Europa League opener.
'Not up to standards'
Stand-in captain Smalling admitted "we didn't play up to our standards" in Holland and that United can ill-afford another loss when they return to Premier League action at Watford on Sunday. "I think if anything, that's a good thing," the centre-back said of the quick turnaround.
"We don't have time to dwell and we have a few days to recover. We make sure that we stand up and be counted on Sunday because we've got a big result to get. I think the confidence does take a little knock, but I think we can't forget some of the chances we created. I think on Sunday character...needs to shine through because it's unacceptable to lose three games in a row."
'Unfortunate offside goal'
The fact that Feyenoord Nicolai Jorgensen was not called offside in the build-up to Tonny Vilhena's later winner - something that irked Smalling, as did the overall display. "I've not seen it myself but it's unfortunate if that is the case," he said. "But I think as much as they didn't create too many chances, I think on our part we didn't create enough chances either."
Manchester United's difficult evening was almost made worse as Chris Smalling nearly missed the flight home after struggling to produce a sample at doping control.
