Edwin van der Sar and Nemanja Vidic are demanding a
defensive improvement after Manchester United’s disappointing
showings in recent weeks.
Van der Sar went 1,311 minutes without conceding a goal earlier
this season, but they have shipped ten goals in their last
four games and their bid for domestic and European success has come
under threat as a result.
And, after Porto twice took advantage of some slack defending in
the 2-2 draw at Old Trafford on Tuesday, Van der Sar has
called for greater concentration.
“It is not that they are great goals from the opposition,” he
said in The Daily Mail.
“We have to sort it out and start focusing.
“We have been successful for a long time this season and we have
to get back to that.”
Vidic, meanwhile, believes the absence of the likes of Rio
Ferdinand, Wes Brown and Rafael has had an impact, but he accepts
that they cannot continue to make mistakes.
"It's very disappointing to lose a goal at the end like that
when you are winning 2-1,” he said.
"If you look at the last four games then obviously we haven't
played like we did in the ten games before that.
“We have conceded too many, so definitely we need to get back on
the right road and we need to get back that mentality.
“I don't think it's a case of players not having the confidence
but maybe we've had so many games and also we've had players
injured – at this stage of the season, you need all your big
players to be ready.
"After the Liverpool game, we said we had to fix it but we
didn't. Now we have to put it right."
