Welbeck: We Have Looked Inward

The whole Manchester United squad is shouldering responsibility in the quest to move up the league table, according to Danny Welbeck.

Sunday’s meeting with Aston Villa is the first of five Barclays Premier League fixtures in just over a fortnight and three points will be on the agenda at Villa Park following the defeats at home to Everton and Newcastle.

"It was unheard of for us to lose two games consecutively at Old Trafford,” Welbeck told MUTV. "We needed to take a good look at ourselves to then put things right.

"Everyone should take responsibility, it’s not just down to one person, it is down to the whole team. We know within ourselves we can’t dwell on things too long and make sure we’re ready to win three points from the next game.

"This season’s been quite unpredictable in the Premier League, but you cannot go into a match just thinking ‘we’re going to win this or win that’, you have to be mentally prepared and physically conditioned."

United are 13 points behind leaders Arsenal as this league weekend kicks off, but Welbeck feels that focusing on short-term gains will benefit the Reds’ position in the table.

“We’ve sat down, looked at ourselves and we want just to win the next game,” Danny added. “It’s not about looking too far ahead and thinking that we want to win the title, I think that is when distractions come into play. You just have to be focused on the next game and winning the three points.”

The absence for around a month of Robin van Persie due to a thigh injury could result in Welbeck spearheading the attack, but with several options available to manager David Moyes, the England international is happy to play in whatever role is needed for the team.

“Wherever the manager picks me, I’ll do that job to the best of my ability," said the 23 year-old, "but I’d prefer to be up top, getting in behind defences and scoring goals.”