Lisandro Martinez has given an insight into what was discussed in a private meeting between Manchester United players following their weekend defeat by Newcastle.
United players held a private debrief in the changing rooms after the 2-0 loss at St. James' Park without the presence of Erik ten Hag or his coaching staff.
It certainly appeared to have the desired effect, as United responded with a deserved 1-0 win over Brentford on Wednesday night.
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Speaking after the match, Martinez was quizzed on the private meeting and hinted at the topics that were discussed after their humbling defeat.
“We spoke, we spoke as a team," he told reporters after the Brentford win. "We know that it is not possible to play (like that), especially these kind of games.
“Like I said in the beginning, we have to fight more than the opponent, we have to play with more passion, we have to play with more energy, you know? In the end, we have a really good squad, so we have to have everyone ready to play.”
Luke Shaw had slammed his side's dire performance against Newcastle, and his defensive teammate agreed that they failed to meet the standards expected of them in that game.
He added: “I totally agree with him. It's not possible when you lose this kind of game, especially against Newcastle. Now every game is a final and you have to play with passion, you have to be ready, you have to be sharp, you have to fight for these three points. If you don't do that, I think it's not (showing) respect for this club. You have to be always every game fighting. Fighting for the badge.”
United moved back up to fourth thanks to their win over Brentford and are level on points with Newcastle after their 5-1 thrashing of West Ham.
There is lots of work to be done if United are to secure a top-four finish, but Martinez is pleased it is still in their hands.
He concluded: “It's up to us. It's up to us. We don't have to think of other opponents. It's up to us if we play like tonight. We want to qualify, for sure. It was a massive three points for us. We want to be there, especially to qualify for Champions League. I really liked the reaction of the team, the effort as well. We won the game and that was good.”
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