Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Manchester United's manager, said that his English club needs to bolster the depth of its squad before the next season after being shown the door at the Europa League. United were defeated 1-2 in the semi-final stage for a third time this season. This time, it was Sevilla that ended their run.
"They (the players) need to keep improving, keep doing what they've done every single day and they've worked so hard, with the right attitude and mentality," said Solskjaer according to Sky Sports. "We need to strengthen the squad depth because it's going to be a long season. We're going to keep pushing and keep demanding more of the players that we have, but still, we're looking to improve and it's a strange one. The league starts very quickly, but then the (transfer) market is open for so long. So we've got to be both good, smart and clever, " he added.
Poor Defending Adds to United Woes
United had the best possible start in Cologne when Bruno Fernandes converted from the spot inside nine minutes, but former Liverpool winger Suso levelled things up for Sevilla just before the half-an-hour mark.
Luuk de Jong tapped home late on with some poor defending also to blame. "It's only going to be a couple of weeks rest until we get going again. We have to dust ourselves down, make sure that we are ready and fresh to go," added Solskjaer.
Disappointed But Not Devastated
Speaking about the defeat, Solskjaer: "The result is very disappointing. We're not devastated, but it's one of those hard ones to take because you feel you played some fantastic stuff at times, created chances and just couldn't get the goals that were, I felt, deserved at times. In different spells of the game, I thought we were absolutely excellent."
"We were on top for long spells, both first and second half, especially at the start of both halves. We created chances and should have scored, but I can't fault the boys. But we seem to let off at times because when we were on top, that's the time to keep squeezing them. We let them play too much in periods and we definitely let him off the hook," he added.
(With inputs from agencies)
