Erik ten Hag has confirmed that Bruno Fernandes will remain as Manchester United’s vice-captain going forward, despite criticism of the midfielder after Sunday’s 7-0 loss against Liverpool.
With club captain Harry Maguire again a substitute, Fernandes again wore the armband for United at Anfield but drew criticism from fans and pundits for how he acted during the humbling by Liverpool.
That led to calls for Fernandes to be stripped of his responsibilities but on Wednesday, Ten Hag stated the Portuguese is an “inspiration” to the United team.
“He’s playing a brilliant season, he’s had a really important role in why we’re in the position where we are, because he’s giving energy to the team, not only running a lot and at the highest intensity but the right way and right direction,” he said.
“He’s pointing and coaching players, he’s an inspiration for the whole team, but noone is perfect, everyone makes mistakes, we have to learn, I have to learn. He has to learn, he will because he’s intelligent, I’m happy to have Bruno Fernandes in my team and that he’s captain when Harry isn’t on the pitch.”
Team-mate Marcus Rashford also spoke about Fernandes ahead of United’s Europa League last-16 first leg against Real Betis.
“I love playing with Bruno as you can imagine,” he said. “For a forward like me he’s a perfect player to play with. He’s been a good leader for us even when he’s not been captain, which is always a good sign, he’s helped other players become better leaders and the reality is we can’t be a well-organised team with just one leader being captain.
“He’s done a lot in terms of bringing his leadership skills in, and that was from the moment he arrived. I don’t have anything negative to say about Bruno. Like the manager said, nobody is perfect, sometimes you want to win so bad you end up doing things that are a little our of character.
“But 100 per cent I support Bruno, we are behind him. As a team we have to support him because he’s a fantastic player and like the boss said, we wouldn’t be in the position we are if he wasn’t playing games for us.”
Source: theathletic.com
