Smalling: Let's Build On Win Over Swansea

Chris Smalling admitted it was a "great feeling" to help Manchester United get back to winning ways with a 2-1 victory over Swansea City at Old Trafford, and now he wants the Reds to build on the result by going on a consistent run.

Having gone eight games without a victory, second-half goals from Anthony Martial and Wayne Rooney – either side of a Gylfi Sigurdsson header – secured all three points for Louis van Gaal’s side on Saturday in the first game of 2016.

Despite late Swansea pressure, including a 95th-minute header from goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski that flew narrowly wide, United hung on to claim three points and Smalling felt the win had been coming.

"We’ve tried to work hard on the training pitch," he told MUTV. "December was a poor month and it’s a great feeling to get that win. I think, especially in the last couple of games, we’ve fought hard and we need to kick on like we did today.

"As players, we knew we had to stop that run and get on the front foot. We did that today and then, in the second half, they tired because we really did press them. It was a good start to the year and we can’t afford any more slip-ups now, so we need to make sure we keep playing like this."

United took the lead just two minutes after the break, as a delightful right-wing cross from Ashley Young was emphatically headed home by Man-of-the-Match Martial.

Smalling said: "He’s come in and obviously had a lot of pressure but you can see right from the off he’s not afraid to be direct, get at people, use his pace and his tricks. He’s a terrific player and I’m glad we’ve got him."

Sigurdsson's looping header over David De Gea pulled the Swans level on 70 minutes, but Smalling was impressed by the character United showed to get back into a winning position.

"In Monday’s draw [against Chelsea], that was a game where we had to dig in and we didn’t quite get what we wanted. In the second half today, we played far better, dominated more of the game and really kicked on and showed that grit and desire that we’ve got to show in games.

"They were two well-worked goals and to see your two strikers get on the scoresheet is good. Hopefully with the number of chances we’ve created today, and in our previous games as well, it’s only time before the goals will start coming and, fingers crossed, they’ll come now.

"We’ve dropped far too many points for our liking. Luckily, this league is so up in the air it’s everything to play for. If we can get on a consistent run now then we can start looking up that table."