Manchester United fought hard for a 1-0 win against Fulham with their backs against the wall, desperately needing a result.
The game could have been a lot less difficult for United had a VAR controversy, another in a long line involving United, hadn’t ruled out Scott McTominay’s early goal.
However, Bruno Fernandes made sure it didn’t affect the result with his late strike securing the win.
Talking after the win, Scott McTominay revealed his thoughts about the banner United fans unfurled in the away end.
Exasperated by the results and efforts recently, fans had brought a banner saying “Play like you mean it!”.
McTominay said that he saw the banner while they were warming up on the pitch ahead of the game.
He said it sent a steely determination through the team to do well for the fans who have been loyal in their support and pay good money to follow the team.
He recognised that things aren’t going well for them at the moment but talked about the win against Fulham being a catalyst and a building block for future success.
“We saw the banner before the game and a few of us said, do you know what, the fans pay good money to come and watch every week and the support is relentless towards us every single week and we just want to repay them as best as we can.
“Things aren’t going the best at the moment but it’s a building block. We can go and kick on and do better,” he said.
Captain Bruno Fernandes struck a similar tone, urging the players to ride on the wave of this win with a crucial clash in the Champions League next up against Copenhagen.
While United’s performance was still up to scratch, they find themselves in a position where three points is all that matters.
Hearing the players’ comments, it looks like they are not giving up despite the downturn in form.