Stoke V Man Utd at Britannia Stadium: LIVE

26 December 2015 09:39
Stoke V Man Utd - view commentary, squad, and statistics of the game live.

Stoke boss Mark Hughes expects former club Man Utd to come good

Mark Hughes believes it is only a matter of time before his former club Manchester United click into gear.

The Stoke boss is just hoping it does not happen as they take on his current club at the Britannia Stadium on Boxing Day.

United have faced some heavy criticism, and their manager Louis van Gaal is under considerable pressure, after a poor run of results and longer spell of uninspiring performances.

United lost their last three games in all competitions, have not won in six and were booed off after losing to Norwich last weekend. They have crashed out of the Champions League and slipped to fifth in the Barclays Premier League.

Hughes said: "I think there is a little bit of noise surrounding the club and a little bit of debate about how they are playing, and which way the club is going.

"From the games I have seen, they are dominating games for the most part. Their game seems a lot more possession-based than it has been in the past. They have had a lot of possession and created a lot of chances - a bit like ourselves.

"We haven't scored a great many goals in recent weeks but we have still been creating chances. It is just about converting them. I think that is the case with United to a certain extent.

"They have got good players, they have got a good squad. They have got good individual talent. You would expect at some point they would start to click again. Hopefully we won't allow that at the weekend."

Hughes' Stoke side have earned plenty of plaudits for their progress this season but, underlining the differing levels of expectations at the two clubs, they are still five points behind United.

But Hughes is well aware of the demands placed on players at United, having scored 163 goals for the club in 467 appearances in two spells.

He made his United debut in 1983 and remembers well their struggles before Sir Alex Ferguson led them into an era of unprecedented success lasting more than two decades.

The 52-year-old said: "The team I played in early on was probably the last one that was booed, when I first broke in. But there will be times when that happens. It's about performance. That's what happens here as well. Nobody backs away from that.

"But more often than not if you've got a strong group of players and leaders within that group they can get themselves together, shake themselves out of it and do something about it.

"That's what all Man United teams in the past have done, and I would fully expect them to do it again this year."

Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney admits confidence in the camp is low after a nightmare month.

Van Gaal's men have not tasted success since a 2-1 win at Watford on November 21 took them to the top of the Barclays Premier League.

A 3-2 defeat at Wolfsburg ended United's Champions League hopes and they sit nine points adrift of leaders Leicester in fifth place having failed to win any of their last four league games.

United travel to Stoke on Boxing Day before back-to-back home games against Chelsea and Swansea.

"We haven't won games in the last few weeks so it's normal confidence will be a bit lower," Rooney told Sky Sports News HQ.

"We need to try to get it back because we've got some tough games coming up and need to be at our best to win them."

He added: "As a group of players we know we can do better and we're all working together to try to come up with the best solution to help us win football matches.

"It's not nice when you're getting criticised every game. It's tough for the players to deal with. We get hurt because we're proud people and proud to play for Manchester United. When it's not going right it's hard to take and frustrating."

Van Gaal has found himself under increasing pressure and stunned reporters at Carrington on Wednesday when he walked out of his weekly press conference after taking just three questions.

In a five-minute rant, the Dutchman accused the media of trying to undermine him in his position as United manager.

Rooney has sympathy for his manager and insisted the United players are working hard to ease the pressure on Van Gaal.

"We all have families and sometimes there's a lot of stuff that gets written which is not nice for your family to see," Rooney said.

"It's okay for me to deal with but there's people in my family who aren't used to it and it's tough for them.

"Obviously you have a lot of people talking about things they believe are happening but in reality a lot of people who are writing that stuff don't know what's happening.

"We're working hard and fighting for the manger to try to get results and turn the season around. It's important we all stick together."

Source: PAR