Fernandes: Manchester United’s Focus Remains Inward Ahead of Derby

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes affirmed that the team’s entire concentration is directed internally in anticipation of Sunday’s Manchester derby, rather than towards their struggling rivals. Manchester City, the current Premier League champions, have recorded seven losses and just one victory in their last 10 matches. Conversely, United, positioned 13th in the league standings prior to the current round of games, are also in urgent need of points. The Portugal international midfielder, Fernandes, stated: “It doesn’t change anything for us, how they [City] are in this moment, because we have to think about ourselves.” He continued: “We all know that this is a huge game and they have huge players. They’re probably not winning as much as everyone would expect them to do.” Fernandes added: “But we have to focus on ourselves because we’re not being at the level we want to be also, so we can’t think about the momentum of the others.” He further elaborated: “We just have to think about ourselves and do the job we have to do to get in better positions and we need points in the league, so it doesn’t matter who we play against.” Concluding his remarks, Fernandes said: “We know it’s City, a huge derby. We know what it means for the fans and it means a lot for us too, so we just have to go to the game and win without thinking who we have ahead.”