After 15 games in their debut Premier League season, Bournemouth sit 17th – outside the bottom three on goal difference – and their style of play has seen Howe attract numerous plaudits.
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“I said before the game that one reason I wanted to play was to dedicate the game to everyone associated with my family that are here and not here”.
Manchester United’s senior players Daley Blind and Juan Mata let the side down badly, according to various player ratings following their defeat at Bournemouth.
It’s been a miserable week for United, who were dumped out of the Champions League after losing to Wolfsburg, before falling to a shock 2-1 defeat against Bournemouth on Saturday.
Marouane Fellaini levelled for the visitors, who were without nine first-team regulars at the Vitality Stadium, but former United youngster Joshua King sealed the three points for Bournemouth with a finish from a low corner-kick. With injuries forcing Van Gaal to field a defence featuring Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, 18, and 20-year-old Paddy McNair, United fell behind inside two minutes when Stanislas’s wind-assisted corner curled straight in.
“When a player has been out for a number of weeks, they need a good few training sessions under their belt to make sure there is no recurrence of the injury or no further damage”.
“That comes with winning games”, he said when asked if United’s fear factor had gone.
“So it is a case of very much backing the players we have and if we did not recruit anybody, then I would still be happy to go forward with the squad intact”.
“I think he’s handled himself with real dignity throughout the process, and to play the way he did today, with the emotions running through his body, I can’t credit him enough for that”.
“The only thing to do now is stick together, get back to the training ground, work hard and perform next week”, he told MUTV.
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“So to get the return we have has been hugely lifting for everybody”. Despite the strong performance in the Champions League, City has just one win from their past four Premier League matches, most recently a 2-0 loss to Stoke City.
