Ralf Rangnick provided a frank assessment of a Manchester United squad that he believes is "not easy" to manage and potentially contains several players who cannot cope with the pressure of playing for the club.
United head into Saturday's clash with relegation-threatened Norwich City having won just one of their previous five Premier League matches.
The most recent of which was a dire 1-0 defeat last weekend to an Everton side that had lost six of seven top-flight games beforehand.
United's performance in that loss led to even greater concern among the fanbase about the collective mentality and attitude of the squad, with a small group of supporters staging a protest outside the training ground on Friday.
Another larger demonstration is expected at Old Trafford on Saturday, and Rangnick accepts there could be certain individuals in the team who are not equipped to handle the expectation on Man Utd players.
"I don't know if this is the case, but it might be, at least with one or two or three of our players, it seems to be like that," Rangnick said.
"That the level of expectation is high and that some of the players seem to struggle with their own performance with that.
"Again, no alibis, no excuses, we have to be ready to cope and deal with it for [Saturday], for sure I am fully aware of that, and I’m also convinced and very positive that all of the players know about this.
"This is a test of character tomorrow and mentality in this game. We are playing against the bottom team. Yes, I know they won against Burnley last week and we know that Everton lost against Burnley the week before and we also thought we should be psychologically in a better position than Everton, but we have to show it on the pitch.
"Whatever we talk about right now, whatever kind of speculation we have and whatever you think, or I think might be reasons for the performance at Everton, we have to be able to, in our own house, beat a team like Norwich and show the best possible performance. This is what it’s all about but the truth, the reality, is on the pitch, whatever we talk about right now."
Reports this week have suggested United are close to appointing Ajax boss Erik ten Hag as their new permanent manager, and on the evidence of 2021-22, the Dutchman will be presiding over a massive rebuild.
Rangnick was hired in an interim capacity in November, with United hopeful he could get them back on track for a top-four finish – that now appears beyond them, though the German insists he has no regrets even as he gave a fairly damning summary of his squad.
"No, I have no regrets whatsoever that I took that role. I would do it over and over again," he continued. "You have to see the situation that we had in December, and I don’t regret that at all.
"As a manager, I always think you have to question and ask yourself what could I have done better. Could you maybe have played with a different formation in this game, or could you have made this substitution earlier on? This is what is always happening.
"We always question and ask ourselves what we could have done better but in general, I think we are all aware that this is not an easy squad.
"That the whole situation was not easy, otherwise I wouldn't even be sitting here, and Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer] would probably still be here.
"But again, I think we have shown in the past, in the last couple of months that we were able to raise the level but in the same sustainable way that I would wish it to have happened. And that's the reason why I am not happy at all with what we have done and achieved so far."
Brazil legend Marta to retire from international football
Brazil star Marta has announced she will retire from international football at the end of 2024.
The 38-year-old is the all-time highest scorer for Brazil, netting 116 goals in 175 matches for the national team.
She is also the top-scorer in the Women’s World Cup with 17 goals, finishing as a runner-up in 2007 when Brazil lost in the final to Germany.
The forward has won three Copa America Femenina titles and was part of the Brazil team that won silver medals at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.
Marta could make her sixth appearance for Brazil at this year's Games if she is selected in the squad at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
"If I go to the Olympics, I will enjoy every moment, because, regardless of whether I go to the Olympics or not, this is my last year with the national team," Marta told CNN in an interview on Thursday.
"There will be no more Marta from 2025 in the national team as an athlete.
"I am very calm about this because I see with great optimism this development that we are having in relation to young athletes."
Al Hilal 3-1 Al Fateh: Neves on target as Saudi giants close in on title
Al Hilal moved 12 points clear of Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr at the top of the Saudi Pro League as Ruben Neves scored in a 3-1 win over Al Fateh on Friday.
Former Wolves star Neves slotted in from the penalty spot in the 74th minute, as Al Hilal completed a rapid comeback.
Having fallen behind to Lucas Zelarayan's 57th-minute opener, Al Hilal responded swiftly through Micheal before Salem Al Najdi fouled Mohammed Al Qahtani in the penalty area.
Ex-Barcelona winger Cristian Trello and Al Fateh coach Slaven Bilic were booked for their complaints, with Neves making no mistake, paving the way for Ali Al Bulayhi to seal victory in the 15th minute of an extended period of stoppage time.
Data Debrief
Al Hilal have now won 21 games on the spin in the league. They have scored 86 goals across their 28 matches this season, winning 26 in total.
They had 19 shots on Friday, accumulating 2.34 xG to Al Fateh's 0.25, with pass-master Neves creating three chances to go along with his goal.
Man Utd cannot afford to get complacent – Ten Hag
Erik ten Hag urged his players not to get complacent against a Burnley side who are still fighting for their place in the Premier League.
After a run of four games without a win in the top-flight, Manchester United came from behind with late goals from Bruno Fernandes and Rasmus Hojlund to beat bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United on Wednesday.
The Red Devils sit in sixth place on 53 points, three more than Newcastle United below them, but have not yet secured a place in Europe next season.
When asked what kind of challenge Burnley would pose, Ten Hag was full of praise for the way Vincent Kompany has set up his team.
“They play high-intensity football. They have changed their approach slightly in the season. They have had good results and are hard to beat, and all the compliments to Vincent and his staff.
“We can’t afford to think [it’s only X] about any opponent. With the team we have available, we have to be creative. We have to take every opponent with 100% focus. We can’t allow and do a little bit less.”
Burnley’s survival hopes were given a huge boost last weekend with an impressive 4-1 win against Sheffield United, leaving them just three points behind Nottingham Forest in 17th.
With just four games left of the season, Kompany highlighted the characteristics have kept the Clarets within touching distance of the teams around them.
He said: “The biggest thing is consistency, hard work and making sure to not get distracted by the outside noise has been the main factor. We haven't found the recipe for Champions League football yet, but we are improving every game.
"I know we still have a chance and that's all that matters to me, whether it's two teams, three teams or four teams still in it, it doesn't matter too much to me.”
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