Manchester United Under-21s manager Mark Dempsey has admitted his team must be more clinical to improve their results.
United's U21s have won just once in the Premier League 2 this season and they're also without a win in the International Cup, which is a competition featuring England's best academy sides and top development squads from other European nations.
The youngsters have drawn against Sparta Prague and have been defeated by Monaco and PSV, most recently.
ALSO READ: Mainoo and Bennett send message to Ten Hag in United's U21s defeat
Although it's understood academy staff are not yet concerned about that form, that will change if the U21s' Premier League 2 status is threatened and Dempsey, speaking after the PSV defeat on Monday, admitted his side need to take their chances.
The U21 manager also insisted the players are improving, despite the poor results that fans are starting to take notice of.
“They [PSV] started the game really well,” Dempsey told MUTV at Leigh Sports Village. "The first 15 minutes, we looked a bit tentative, a little bit heavy in our legs and then I thought we really came into the game, [and] dominated the midfield.
"I thought our midfield three dominated the game, got in little pockets really well, and we started to cause threats down the wide areas. [We] created a couple of really gilt-edged chances that unfortunately didn’t hit the back of the net.
"At this level, at any level, you’ve got to score. You’ve got to take those chances. Second half, again, we lose possession cheaply and they score. I think on the chances created and on the balance of the play, we were unfortunate to come off on the wrong side of a 2-0 defeat. It’s all a learning curve at this level. We are looking for players to improve and we’re seeing players improve.
"So that’s really important to us. But, as I say, and I’ve said it all season, a little bit more precision and desire and will to score a goal has let us down on a few occasions now. I think [against] Monaco at Old Trafford, they were the better team.
"But, other than that, we’ve been in most games. We’ve had a couple of heavy defeats but, as I said earlier in the season, generally the balance of our play has been good in possession. But we haven’t been clinical enough and taken the chances.
"We’ll learn from that, but, as I say, I couldn’t have asked much more from them in terms of effort and application [tonight].”
READ MORE:
