Jones: We Need The Fans More Than Ever

Phil Jones insists Manchester United need the supporters more than ever after Saturday’s defeat to Norwich City in the Barclays Premier League.

Goals from Cameron Jerome and Alex Tettey earned the Canaries a 2-1 win at Old Trafford and, although Anthony Martial’s second-half strike gave United hope, Louis van Gaal's men suffered a first home loss of the season.

Jones insists everyone connected to the club must stick together, with the Reds determined to get back to winning ways as soon as possible after six games without a victory.

The defender told ManUtd.com and other reporters after Saturday's match: “It was disappointing again. We’ve just got to keep going, working hard, take the criticism and stick together. There’s nothing else we can do.

“We need to keep plugging away, create chances, get back to the drawing board and pick ourselves up. We’ve played good football in patches this season but we need to stick together, there’s nothing else we can do.

“We can’t come out and say we’ve played well in parts because ultimately we’ve lost the game. We’re upset, the fans are upset, everyone is upset, but we need the fans more than ever now.”

After defeats to Wolfsburg and Bournemouth, the Reds have now lost three games in a row but Jones is confident the players can turn it around over the festive period – starting with the Boxing Day trip to the Britannia Stadium.

“We’ve got to pull through and we will. Only ourselves can turn it around,” he added. “We have the chance to do that against Stoke, which is going to be a difficult game again, but we’ve got to go and do it. We’ve got to prepare right and win the game.”

The Reds have drawn criticism from some quarters after slipping down to fifth in the table and going out of the Champions League. However, Jones maintains that the players are fully behind their manager and have to take responsibility for results on the pitch.

“The manager picks the team and the team have to go out and do their best," he insisted. "We might be playing well in patches and not scoring or whatever it is, but we need to take responsibility for results.

“The players aren’t hiding behind anyone. The manager is doing all he can and is doing a terrific job.

“It’s not even questionable in the dressing room [that the manager has the players’ backing]. The lads are fully focused on doing well for ourselves, the manager and the fans week in, week out.

“He [van Gaal] has been positive, the same as us. He’s devastated when we’ve lost games but the only way we are going to come out of this is if we keep working hard.”