Smalling Wants aggressive Start Against Shrewsbury

Manchester United defender Chris Smalling feels that a strong and confident start could be the key to overcoming Shrewsbury Town in the Emirates FA Cup on Monday.

The Reds travel to Greenhous Meadow with the aim of securing a place in the quarter final for the second time in as many years, but Smalling feels that he and his team-mates will need to match the aggression of a home side spurred on by a capacity crowd to do so.

“The aggression that you start the game with is something you need to match with the other team, something that I don’t think we have done recently,” he told MUTV. “We need to make sure we win our battles and our second balls and then when it starts to die down we can overcome them with our football.

“This competition is massive for us, particularly because we’re not fighting at the top of the league like we expected to be,” Smalling added. “The FA Cup is an opportunity to win some silverware and a competition we’ve done well in so far this season. We’ll go to Shrewsbury as favourites and we need to control that tie.”

Controlling the match will be a difficult task, however, with Shrewsbury expected to play with a freedom afforded by their underdog status. United are used to this though, having beaten lower-league opposition six times during Louis van Gaal’s tenure, a number Smalling is confident United can add to as the Reds continue the search for a first FA Cup triumph since 2004.

“We can expect a terrific atmosphere on Monday, but that is something we always seem to rise to,” Chris commented. We have done well in recent years against lower-league sides away from home and we know what to expect.”

“It’s surprising how long this club has gone since winning the FA Cup, but I think that makes everyone hungrier. A competition like this shouldn’t be away from us for this long.”