An away draw, progress in the Carabao Cup and a first home win would please most Managers in the first week of a new season, but not so Karl Robinson who is demanding even more from his players as they prepare to take on Crewe Alexandra at the Kassam Stadium on Tuesday evening.
“One of my biggest weakneses is that I never relax, I always want more” United’s Manager told iFollow today. “When you are losing you want more from everyone, when we’re winning I want us to be even better. We knew Cambridge would be difficult it was like teams coming to the Manor when Oxford played there, very intense. Then we went to Burton who had beaten Shrewsbury away on the opening day and made no changes and beat Ipswich on Saturday. Charlton had drawn against Sheffield Wednesday and we beat them in a controlled manner. So every game has been different and I have been very impressed by the players for the way they have adapted.
“We have rotated the side and will make one or two changes again tomorrow night to keep it fresh and to stop any overload: Anthony Forde’s situation on Saturday was because he had to play on Wednesday. Going to three subs has made a difference as well because we couldn’t make changes and give players a break
“There is still a lot more work to be done and we will get better. Elliott Moore is fit again and we have coped really well without him: Luke McNally has come in and done well, Jordan Thorniley has come in as though he has played for us for years, and we will have Sam Long back to cover there plus John Mousinho is fully fit now. We have been fortunate: Rob Dickie came in and had to wait for his chance behind Curtis Nelson and Mous, then Rob Atkinson didn’t get in the side straight away. Luke will be the same, he’ll need to be patient, but we think the world of him and we know there is so much more to come from him.
“We still need a left back, in my opinion but we are happy with how things are coming together and we have a tremendous energy in the team.
“Look at our goals at the weekend: the energy in the turn over from Cameron, Jamo and Gavin, and from Sykesy plus Sedds and Willo at full back. We can be patient but we believe in energy and without that willingness to run, your talent becomes no use in this industry.
“Every time you put that shirt on you know you have to run around and show you care. I think fans see a team that cares and on Saturday we saw fans back with us who care all the time for their club. That is growing and that energy from the players and from the fans is what makes this so exciting.”
See the full interview in iFollow, and book tickets for the game HERE as the U’s take on Crewe at the Kassam Stadium.