Chris Smalling believes that Manchester United are “peaking at the right time” as United prepare for the next round of the FA Cup against Reading.
Smalling speaking with ManUtd.com, BBC Radio and PA Sport said:
“We are peaking at the right time, at the start of the season we had a number of players who were struggling. Now we have a nice, full squad and a lot of people to call upon.
“It all seems to be coming together. There’s a lot of confidence and the results are showing. We are going for three competitions. That makes it good for the whole squad to play games and to be happy. When things are going well on the pitch we’re happy as well.
“The manager has stressed that he expects to go to the end in all three competitions. We’re confident we can fight on three fronts.”
Manchester United have not won the FA Cup since beating Millwall in the final of 2004, but Smalling knows how big the competition is.
He added:
“There are quite a lot of lads who haven’t won it, despite being here for a while. It’s a competition I’ve watched since I was growing up and I look forward to it.”
“I was quite shocked at how long it has been since United won the FA Cup. This club has always been successful. Luckily we have another good draw, at home to Reading, and we need to make it count.
“I don’t think any game is a foregone conclusion. You have seen in the league a lot of teams down at the bottom have beaten a lot of teams at the top. It will be a difficult one but we are confident because we are playing at home.
“But this competition is difficult to win. It’s about what happens on the day. Luton have reached the fifth round. Anything can happen. Form goes out of the window. It’s all about what happens in those 90 minutes.
“I’ve seen quite a lot of Reading’s games. They play good football and recently have picked up a few points. It is not going to be an easy game. We have not had too many of them at Old Trafford. We have to try and make sure we break them down.”
2 replies on “United are peaking at the right time, says Chris Smalling”
Hopefully United are peaking at the right time. I only believe that Chris Smalling will catch up – on recent evidence (hopefully) he is a long way from his peak. Right now I would say that he is a significant weak link in the squad.
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