Darmian & Pereira Praise The Fans

Matteo Darmian has praised the Manchester United fans for their patience during the Emirates FA Cup win over Sheffield United and vowed to build on the 1-0 victory.

The Reds needed a 93rd minute Wayne Rooney penalty to see off the organised League One side, who defended with all 11 players behind the ball and attacked only on the counter.

Darmian, who was one of three changes to the starting XI, admitted he can understand fans' frustrations after this season's 10th goalless first half at home and paid tribute to the support.

“Sometimes it is difficult because Sheffield United had their whole team behind the ball," Darmian explained after the final whistle. "It’s not easy to find the space and sometimes we try to pass the ball behind to create the space, but we would like to score earlier.

“But I think the fans were fantastic. When we didn’t score they carried on supporting us and they are amazing. We want to try our best for all the fans but we know it’s not easy.”

The Italian admitted he enjoyed his first taste of FA Cup action and is pleased to be in the next round. “Yeah I think in this game it can all happen, even against a team from League One but we fight and in the end we got the penalty and score and win and we are happy for the result. In Italy the cup is not as important. It’s nice here, I enjoyed it. When I play I always enjoy it but when we win it’s even better.

“We have to continue in this way. In the New Year we want to get this fluency. It helps to win; it increases our confidence and let’s see. Now we have two days to prepare for Newcastle and we have to recover and then we focus.”

Andreas Pereira stepped off the bench during the second half of the match and the youngster is confident United can build on the victory. “Yeah we understand what the fans are thinking but we have to stick with the manager and his plan,” said the young Brazilian.

“We can do better and better. This is our second win in a row, hopefully we can kick on and play better football. The confidence will grow more and more if we keep doing the right things and keep thinking.”

Asked about his first-team opportunities, Pereira remains optimistic of making more appearances. “Of course you want to play every game, I was on the bench but I came on and I wanted to help my team but hopefully next time. It is frustrating [not to start] but I must get used to being able to handle these sorts of things. You have to keep waiting for your opportunity and working hard. That’s what I’m doing. We were happy that we won, but now we’re focused on the next game on Tuesday.”