Both manager Erik ten Hag and club legend Roy Keane are in agreement that the current crop of Manchester United stars only motivate themselves for the biggest games.
Ten Hag said as much while confessing that there will have to be an 'improvement' in his players if they are to stand any chance of winning three trophies this season. United have already secured the Carabao Cup, but have also reached the last eight of the Europa League and the last four of the FA Cup.
The Red Devils secured their place in the semi-final of the FA Cup in dramatic fashion, coming from behind to beat Fulham 3-1 at home in a contest that saw all three of Willian, Marco Silva and Alekdsandar Mitrovic sent off. The latter was later slapped with an eight-game ban for his aggressive conduct towards referee Chris Kavanagh.
Once the red cards were dished out, United went from 1-0 down to 3-1 up courtesy of a brace from Bruno Fernandes either side of Marcel Sabitzer's goal.
The performance didn't convince Keane however, who questioned the hunger of the United players during his post-match review.
"Obviously with the FA Cup the priority is getting into the next round but with United I still think their manager will be disappointed with what he saw," Keane claimed. "Of course, Fulham self-destructed but United were so poor it was unbelievable. I’ve kind of lost that little bit of confidence watching them now.
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"I think about a month or two ago you’re thinking ‘yeah, they’re up for it’, but the last few games I’ve seen they have a real habit of, I think it’s OK to play moments every now and then, but I think that seems to be their DNA at the moment.
"And I think they’ve got into some real bad habits. It’s almost like they’re turning up today thinking ‘we’re Man United, we’re going to win football matches’. But if they turn up with that attitude for the semi-final, Brighton will beat them. Listen – it gives us a kick up the backside."
Some may took issue with Keane's review, but Ten Hag seemed to suggest he agreed with the pundit, claiming there was 'plenty of room for improvement after the game.
"I am happy and pleased with the performance but I see a lot of room for improvement," the Dutchman explained.
"On the ball, today was an example, we have to show more composure, recognise where the overload is, and use that overload. In attacking transitions today was some good examples we can definitely do better."
Up next for United is the visit of Sevilla for the first-leg of a Europa League quarter-final, before a visit to the City ground to face off with Nottingham Forest on Sunday afternoon.
