‘Man Utd must make rivals scared of Old Trafford’ – Fred eager to create home ‘fortress’

Manchester United need to make opponents “scared” of visiting Old Trafford, admits Fred, with the Red Devils looking for a reversal in fortunes that will make their iconic home a “fortress” again.

During the reign of Sir Alex Ferguson, few sides relished a trip to the North West.

United’s success, which delivered 13 Premier League titles, was built on the sturdiest of foundations in their own backyard.

An air of invincibility has evaporated since a legendary Scottish coach headed into retirement, with the Red Devils regressing at an alarming rate.

Those struggles have continued in 2020-21, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s  side still waiting on a first home win in their current top-flight campaign .

Fred is at a loss to explain the issues being endured by United, but concedes that they need to be put right as a matter of urgency.

The Brazilian midfielder told the club’s official website ahead of a meeting with West Brom on Saturday: “It’s difficult to try and put your finger on why it is that the performances at home have not been quite as good.

“Our goal is to improve at home because Old Trafford needs to be a fortress; it needs to be a place that opponents are scared of coming to.

“It’s just a case of working hard to try and get that back and get some victories under our belt. The next challenge is West Brom at home and we need to do everything we can to get the victory.

“We need to be patient in terms of keeping the ball moving above all, and stay calm on the ball and wait for that key moment to make that killer pass.

“If you try and rush it and try and go too fast then it probably won’t work, especially against the teams who are going to set up to try to nick a goal on the break. There is no point in rushing it; we know how to move the ball; we need to be patient and choose our moments correctly.”

As Solskjaer seeks to find a winning formula, Fred believes rotation will be key for United, with every member of their squad having a role to play over the coming weeks.

He added: “There are a lot of games but what’s good about it is we’ve got a really good group, and we will need everyone.

“That’s the best thing about having the group: we will be able to help each other, because there will be injuries, knocks and niggles.

“Getting a consecutive run of games and a consecutive run of wins is the goal. We know our strengths and we know what we need to work on. As I said, we have a good group and we want to try and get a good run of victories in this intense period.”

United have 12 games across all competitions to take in before the turn of the year, with the Red Devils readying themselves for Premier League, Champions League and Carabao Cup tests.