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Mark Hughes: United lack mindset to win the title

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Ex-United star doubts mental attitude of side

Former Manchester United star Mark Hughes has said he doesn’t feel like the current United side have the ‘correct mindset’ to win the title.

Stoke travel to Old Trafford on Sunday still looking for their first Premier League win of the season, having lost 4 of their opening 6 matches.

“I played in a winning Manchester United team that was challenging for titles year on year, and that team from personal experience had the mindset that they have to win every game,” Hughes said at his pre-match press conference

“I’m not sure whether the current group have that feeling, but they have the talent to do that.

“They have addressed some of their failings from last year with some very big signings. You can see the club’s intent in what they have done this summer.

“It is maybe a little bit of a transitional period that they are going through, but you sense that there will be a marked improvement on where they finish this season.”

wayne-rooney-manchester-united-sunderland_3270708Wayne Rooney came off the bench on Thursday night to put in a decent performance, assisting Zlatan Ibrahimovic for the only goal of the game. The recent talk around Rooney hasn’t been positive, with many questioning his abilities as a captain and player for United.

“He is captain there and plays a huge role in helping new players understand the values,” said Hughes. “Players like Zlatan don’t need too much help in that regard – he clearly understands what he needs to do on the field. I am looking forward to coming up against him.”

Hughes confirmed Ibrahim Afellay and Stephen Ireland will be missing long-term while Jack Butland faces at least another month out, but he provided positive updates on the status’ of Joe Allen and Xherdan Shaqiri.

“Joe Allen was a little bit tight in his hamstring, and hasn’t really trained since the game,” said Hughes. “We will check on him, but hopefully he will be OK. Shaqiri came through the game fine and is in contention again.”

 

By Ben Kelly – @benkelly_10

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