Christian Eriksen is sad to see Cristiano Ronaldo leave Manchester United but insists supporters will soon forget what it was like having the forward at the club.
Ronaldo's second spell at Old Trafford came to an end last month when his contract was mutually terminated after criticising the club and manager Erik ten Hag in an interview.
United have not looked back since, having defeated Burnley 2-0 in the last 16 of the EFL Cup and Nottingham Forest 3-0 in the Premier League on their return to action.
While Eriksen is grateful to have played alongside Ronaldo this season, the Denmark international is glad he and his team-mates can now focus solely on football matters.
"First of all we are sad Ronaldo is not part of it. His legacy and his name at any club is special, for me to be fortunate to play with him in my career was very nice," Eriksen said.
"The football goes on. You feel that the next game after, people will forget what it was like before and now our focus is really like he is not here.
"The atmosphere is good. We have a lot of people coming back from the World Cup, the last guys are coming back and everyone is coming together."
Ronaldo, who started just 10 of United's 21 matches prior to his departure, is reportedly close to joining Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr on a huge-money contract.
United are in the market for a replacement in the January window, despite the form of Marcus Rashford, who has scored 10 goals in 21 matches this season.
That is double the number of any other United player, with Anthony Martial next best with five goals, and Eriksen is hopeful the England international can continue his hot streak.
"He played very well [against Forest]. Luckily I haven't been on the pitch where he has played a bad game yet," Eriksen said.
"I let him continue that. He is looking sharp and confident and you can feel that when he is going forward.
"You feel that in the stadium and you feel that with him and it is a nice thing and I hope he keeps it going. You can see that he came back [from the World Cup] pretty confident.
"I didn't see as much of his [England] games of course. You guys will have seen more, but he came back in good shape and luckily he has taken that into United."
Following Tuesday's comfortable win over Forest, United have now kept four successive clean sheets at Old Trafford in the league for the first time since June 2020.
United are a point off the top four with a game in hand, a far cry from the opening fortnight of the season when losing to Brighton and Hove Albion and then Brentford in humbling fashion.
"We are in a good place," Eriksen added. "The start of the season is very different compared to now. The football is different now to the beginning.
"It was a bit hit-and-miss in some games but I think after that we picked up, we have been building since.
"You feel that in the group, you feel that the system is working which is something you have to believe in and I think we are doing that."
Man Utd appoint Jason Wilcox as new technical director after leaving Southampton
Jason Wilcox has left Southampton to become Manchester United’s new technical director with immediate effect.
The 53-year-old becomes a key appointment at Old Trafford as part of United’s off-field overhaul following Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s arrival at the club.
Wilcox joined Championship side Southampton last summer as their director of football, making the switch from Manchester City where he developed a reputation for nurturing excellent young talent as well as recruiting some of the best prospects in the game.
A United statement read: “Jason Wilcox has joined Manchester United as technical director with immediate effect.
“He will work with all technical areas of the football department to achieve the highest standards of performance.
“Jason was previously director of football at Southampton and before that academy director at Manchester City.
“As a player he won the Premier League with Blackburn Rovers in 1995.”
A Saints statement read: “Southampton Football Club can today confirm that it has reluctantly agreed to allow director of football Jason Wilcox to join Manchester United, having reached an agreement with the Premier League side on an acceptable compensation fee.
“Whilst the club is naturally disappointed that Jason’s stay at Southampton has only lasted nine months, it wishes him well for the future.”
John Murtough stepped down as football director at Old Trafford last week.
United are looking to add Newcastle sporting director Dan Ashworth to their staff as Ratcliffe continues his off-field rebuild after taking a 27.7 per cent stake in the club.
Wilcox will report to the sporting director, who will have overall responsibility for football performance, recruitment and operations.
The PA news agency understands Darren Fletcher will continue to play a key role in the football leadership team working across the men’s first team and academy.
Maya Le Tissier signs new deal with Manchester United
England defender Maya Le Tissier has signed a new contract extension at Manchester United.
The centre-back joined United from Women’s Super League rivals Brighton in July 2022 and has gone on to make 59 appearances.
Her existing contract was due to expire next year but she has pledged her future to United, with the length of the deal not disclosed.
“I’m really happy to sign a contract extension with this great club and look forward to ending the season strong, while continuing to build for the future,” the 22-year-old said on www.manutd.com.
“A big thank you to all our fantastic fans for their great support since I joined, and I’m excited for many more winning moments together.”
Le Tissier, capped three times by England, was an ever-present last season as United reached a maiden FA Cup final and finished second in the WSL to qualify for the Champions League for the first time.
She has not missed a game in any competition this season and was last week instrumental in repelling Chelsea as United claimed a shock win to reach the FA Cup final for the second successive campaign.
“Maya has become a real fixture of our team,” United head coach Marc Skinner said. “For her to be playing every single minute like she has, is testament to her.
“We want to make Maya a key feature of our team for many years to come. Maya’s a leader and everybody at the club should be proud that she’s decided to sign for us long term.
“She has the right mentality and the right attitude – and is a perfect role model for the next generation. We look forward to working with her for many winning years to come.”
Philippe Clement urges Rangers to embrace intense environment of run-in
Philippe Clement has told his off-form Rangers players they must embrace an intense environment where results dictate whether they go to “heaven or hell”.
The Gers were widely lauded after a consistent run of form that saw them wipe out Celtic’s eight-point advantage at the top of the cinch Premiership to briefly take over at the summit in February.
However, they go into this Sunday’s Scottish Gas Scottish Cup semi-final against on-song Hearts having been ferociously criticised after slip-ups away to Ross County and Dundee over the past week left them with just two wins from their last eight games in all competitions and their title hopes hanging by a thread.
“If you win 10 games in a row, you have more belief than when you lose two times but this is Rangers, this is a club where you always have to fight,” said Clement.
“Every point you lose, it’s like you’re going to hell. That’s this world, and that’s good. That’s also the challenge and it’s interesting to see which players can live in that way.
“But it’s an exciting place to be because on the other side you can go also to heaven when you win games and when you win trophies.
“In other teams, where it’s not so important to win points or when it’s not something dramatic when you lose points, you cannot go to heaven also because those are not the clubs that win trophies. This is something you need to embrace.”
Clement insists he is comfortable with the intense scrutiny and criticism he has faced amid Rangers’ recent “bumps in the road”.
“I know it’s part of the job,” he said. “I’ve been now more than 30 years in this world and I’ve been buried a lot of times as a player and as a manager, so I know what I’m doing in a club. I know what I’m doing in this club. I know we are on the right road together.”
Clement described the demands of being in charge of Rangers as similar to managing former club Brugge in his homeland.
“Winning, becoming champion, is the only thing that counts,” he said. “But I’ve been like that all my life. There is nobody who can be more critical than me because I want to win everything.
“Everybody who knows me from when I was a child, whether it was basketball, tennis or table tennis or whatever sport, I want to win. I made a lot of fights with my wife about that, that I wanted that mentality with my children because I did it with them also.
“If I played a game with them and they were three years old, I wanted to win. That is the mentality that is necessary in a club like this, but you need to embrace that.
“It’s also because of that that you can be successful and you can win trophies and have these exciting moments that will stay with you for the rest of your life. That is what Rangers is about and that’s why I love to be here.”
Clement galvanised Rangers earlier in the season after replacing Michael Beale in October.
Asked what he would say to supporters who fear the resurgence is fizzling out, the Belgian said: “The same thing I said in October. I think this team since October did improve in results, in attitude and resilience, and in six months they proved it several times.
“So it’s there, they can do it. They’ve shown it several times with quality. That’s what they need to do again. So, yes, my belief is there 200 per cent.”
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