Fernandes, Shaw adamant inspiration from Ferguson is unnecessary ahead of Solskjaer´s first final

Bruno Fernandes and Luke Shaw are adamant Manchester United do not need any form of motivation or inspiration from the club’s iconic former manager Alex Ferguson ahead of Wednesday’s Europa League final.

United face Villarreal in Gdansk as they look to win their first piece of silverware since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer replaced Jose Mourinho in December 2018.

Solskjaer’s former boss Ferguson is staying in the same hotel as the United squad and has been particularly prominent in the media of late, granting numerous interviews after largely avoiding the press in his eight years since retirement.

Ferguson led United to two Champions League successes – among many other titles – during his storied reign at the club, therefore knows plenty about the pressures and emotions that come with such occasions.

But Shaw and Fernandes stressed they are in no need of any extra motivation or pep talks from Ferguson as they look to sink the Yellow Submarine.

Speaking to the media, Shaw said: “I wouldn’t expect him to speak to us. I am sure we don’t need people to inspire us for the game tomorrow, as much of a legend as he [Ferguson] is.

“Inside our group we need to do that ourselves. Of course, I’m sat next to the manager now and I am sure he’ll be doing that tomorrow, so I’m not sure we’ll be seeing too much of Sir Alex tomorrow.”

Head to the #MUFC app now for  coverage of our final training session before the final! #UELfinal

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) May 25, 2021

Fernandes continued: “I think we have a coach who passed a lot of time with Alex Ferguson so everything he could say to us, he [Solskjaer] already knows. We trust our coach.

“The team is confident. We trust ourselves, we know what we have to do. This is our moment to do our best.

“We trained well the days before, we have another day to train. Make the job tomorrow, enjoy the moment – being in the final is not for everyone.”

It will be United’s first European final since the 2016-17 edition of this competition, when they defeated Ajax 2-0 under Mourinho – before that they had gone nine years without a trophy in Europe.

Even reaching the final this time around is something of a milestone, particularly for Solskjaer, as United’s record in semi-finals prior to their two-legged tie with Roma was poor under the Norwegian.

The 8-5 aggregate win over Roma ended a run of four successive semi-final eliminations for United under Solskjaer, whose only other final as a manager was in the 2013 Norwegian Cup, and the club’s players will relish the chance to end their trophy drought.

 “We come to this club because we want to win trophies,” @B_Fernandes8 adds.

“I think every player knows you come here to fight for trophies and to be a better player. The pressure to win is there, but pressure is good for me.” #MUFC #UELfinal

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) May 25, 2021

“We come to this club because we want to win. It doesn’t matter if the club doesn’t win for many years, the hope is still there,” Fernandes said.

“Trophies are part of this club. Every player knows he will come to United to fight for trophies, to be a better player.

“If you look to history, you have to look to the history, pressure is part of your life. I like the pressure, that’s good for me.

“The most important for us is to try to win the game. Everything can happen, but we can control some stuff. Most importantly, the team is growing up and tomorrow will be a sign of that.”