Bruno Fernandes reveals why Man Utd players are always “mentally crushed”

Bruno Fernandes is one of the most resilient players at Man Utd, but even he’s accepting that there’s an element of being “mentally crushed” all the time at this club.

The 3-2 comeback win against Roma showed what Man Utd can be at their best, backed by a rabid Old Trafford atmosphere.

However, that simply hasn’t happened enough this season, as that was the club’s third win of the season across all competitions.

Bruno Fernandes has revealed that Man Utd players are “mentally crushed” due to being trapped in a vicious cycle at Carrington.

Bruno Fernandes makes “mentally crushed” claim

It has often been said that part of the secret behind succeeding at Man Utd has to do with what you do mentally, rather than a question of talent.

Many talented players have come and gone at United, but only a few have managed to establish themselves in this cauldron.

United invite more scrutiny than probably any other club, at least in English football, where the success and failures are both amplified massively.

Therefore, when the players fail to match the ludicrous expectations set by the outside world, they are trapped in a vicious cycle.

Fernandes said that failing small also leads to a feeling of being mentally crushed, which invites bigger failings.

He said: “There are a lot of factors outside the dressing room, outside of the players and the backroom staff, which make the performances of the club and what we can do on the pitch more difficult.

“It affects a lot of players. Some deal with it better, some worse. We set high expectations for ourselves, and when things don’t work out, we end up mentally crushed by the frustration of not being able to give the club what we believe we’re truly capable of.

“When the situation is like this, there isn’t just one problem. There is more than one. There are a lot of things to improve, to do in a different way. Unfortunately for us, it’s been happening for a long time, which makes things more difficult.”

It confirms the theory that this team is almost always playing less than the sum of its parts, because they are too often in their own heads mentally.

Once they realise that the outside noise is just that, noise, then they can actually play to their potential, which is easily top-five in the league at the very least.