Moyes: I will turn it around

The pressure has been well and truly cranked up but manager David Moyes insists Manchester United will turn around their depressing start to his tenure.

Installed as Alex Ferguson’s successor amid much fanfare this summer, Moyes has presided over a troubled transition so far.

Hammered by Manchester City, then stunned on home soil by West Brom at the weekend, the defending Premier League champions have slithered into the bottom half of the Premier League table, experiencing their worst start to a campaign since 1989.

Yet Moyes remains defiant.

In the knowledge senior figures with the Red Devils, not least Bobby Charlton and Ferguson, who recommended his appointment, will ensure he gets the time needed to implement his plans, Moyes spoke with an air of certainty ahead of tonight’s tricky encounter with Shakhtar Donetsk.

“I have been in situations very similar to this at my old clubs Everton and also at Preston,” he said.

“You get on and you do the right things. I haven’t changed what I have done. I will continue to do that. The results will come. I have no doubt about that.”

Moyes was not in particularly expansive mood.

When reminded of his apparent weekend claim United lack the world-class players needed to compete in this most elite of competitions, which admittedly United reached the final of as recently as 2011, Moyes attempted to clarify his position.

“I said to win the Champions League you need to have a certain amount of world-class players,” he said. “That is something which we will try and do. Of course we will try and win the Champions League.

“It is part of the job at Manchester United and I will do everything possible to try and make that happen.”

By his own admission, Moyes adopted a conservative approach to his first few games in the job. That stance now appears to have changed.

Rio Ferdinand’s absence — Moyes confirmed the 34-year-old would have missed the trip anyway even without the slight groin problem that eventually ruled him out — seems to be an admission the former England man cannot play back-to-back games.

Anderson’s omission appears equally significant, and not in a good way for the Brazilian, who has not fulfilled the promise that brought him to United from Porto in 2007.

At least Robin van Persie should start after his recent thigh complaint.

“He is fit,” said Moyes. “We will make a decision [today] whether we start him or not. He is as good as anybody I have seen.”

Moyes may not have taken too kindly to the intense scrutiny being placed not just on results, but his public utterances.

He bristled when informed Shakhtar coach Mircea Lucescu had questioned his recent squad rotation.

“It never caused Sir Alex Ferguson any problem when he did it,” he said.

Lucescu believes it is unfair to compare the Manchester United “winning machine” he encountered in 1999 to the one he will face at the Donbass Arena tonight.

Lucescu was in charge of Inter Milan when they met the Red Devils in the Champions League quarter-finals just over 14 years ago.

Alex Ferguson’s side emerged triumphant, before recording victories against Juventus and Bayern Munich to lift the trophy for the first time under the Scot.

“I played against Manchester United 14 years ago,” said Lucescu. “Then it was a machine for winning trophies.

“It was more of an English team then. Now it’s more international, so it’s quite difficult to compare these two teams.”

A veteran of almost a decade’s service at Shakhtar, 68-year-old Lucescu realises how much upheaval Ferguson’s exit has caused at the Old Trafford outfit.

“Of course every coach needs some time to look at a new way,” he said.

“There can always be some changes of philosophy and maybe that’s why Manchester United are facing some difficulties in their championship.

“We have analysed their games and noted there are always some changes. Because of rotation the links between players are not very good.

“We know of Moyes’ work at Everton. He needs time to get his ideas across to the players. [Carlo] Ancelotti is having the same problem [at Real Madrid]. [Jose] Mourinho [at Chelsea] and [Manuel] Pellegrini [at Manchester City] are the same.

“You need some time to prepare the team. Let’s hope they find it but only after tomorrow’s game.”

How Ronaldo kicked bad habit

By Colm O’Connor

Manchester United players undertook drastic measures to stop Cristiano Ronaldo diving when he first came to the club. “He dived a lot,” Phil Neville told an ITV documentary on Ronaldo.

“He tried to buy fouls and he came in for a lot ofcriticism. The boys were hard on him for his diving and it was putting us under pressure. I’d say the first 12 months there was a massive toughening up process. In training at the time you had [Roy] Keane, [Nicky] Butt, [Paul] Scholes, and every time he got the ball they kicked him and they kicked him — not just once, they kicked him every day, every week, all season.”