Bulgaria's Berbatov Urges Patience

Bulgaria received a chastening 6-1 thrashing at the hands of Serbia in the midweek international, but captain Dimitar Berbatov has urged the media and fans to give the squad time to rediscover their best form under the present coach, Plamen Markov.

Manchester United striker Berbatov, who was injured in the Serbia game and will miss matches for his club as a result, told the media that there is no overnight cure for the team's current slump.

Criticism was heaped upon Markov and most of the players, including Berbatov himself, following weak displays during the World Cup qualifiers to date. Then came the heavy defeat to the Serbians on Wednesday.

"I fully realise the disappointment and the shame that fans are feeling following the national team players' poor performances recently," Reuters quote the United man as saying in a statement.

But he added: "The problems are psychological and are probably caused by the recent negative results and our great desire to qualify for the big championships."

Berbatov will miss United's games against Aston Villa this weekend and Villarreal next week due to the knock he sustained on Wednesday.

He has scored 41 goals in 66 games for his country, and has urged the Bulgarian media to ease up on the criticism towards he and his team-mates.

He added: "I don't want to mislead anybody that pulling out of crisis will be done with a magic wand and you'll see a new team in the next match. We know a lot of work has to be done."

Mark Hinton, Goal.com