Schweinsteiger: United need Messi/Ronaldo attitude

Matt Stead

Bastian Schweinsteiger believes Manchester United are simply lacking the “attitude” of a goalscorer such as Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi.

United toiled to a 0-0 draw against West Ham on Saturday, putting them fourth in the Premier League table but meaning they have scored just seven goals in their last 10 games in all competitions.

Louis van Gaal has now led United to a 0-0 draw in a quarter of their games (six of 24) in all competitions so far this season, and pressure is mounting with regards to the lack of attacking football at Old Trafford.

For United’s part, they attempted 21 shots on goal against West Ham at the weekend, but tested visiting keeper Adrian just once, pointing more towards a lack of a clinical touch in front of goal, as opposed to a problem with style and tactics.

After groundbreaking claims from new Valencia boss Gary Neville that Cristiano Ronaldo would make United a bit more good, Schweinsteiger agrees that United are simply lacking the “attitude” offered by the top strikers in the game.

“In every game we create chances but haven’t scored. When that is the case it is not easy to win matches,” the United midfielder said.

“The guy who has the opportunity has to feel that they want to score a goal and are going to score.

“If you miss a chance you have to be unhappy. When you are a big striker like (Cristiano) Ronaldo, (Lionel) Messi and Thomas Muller (it is) the same. It is about attitude. They want to score goals. They have quality but they want to score goals. You need the attitude that you want to score.

“The feeling that the players want to score, we need to have more of this. We are trying but we need a goal otherwise you cannot talk about winning a trophy because we should be winning at home to West Ham.

“Players are not scared in front of goal. It is all about the killer instinct. We have players who have the abilities but we need it in every game.”