Bruno Fernandes has admitted he is "perfectly aware" that he has not been at his best for Manchester United so far this season.
The Red Devils' captain was speaking while on international duty with Portugal, where he is set to feature in friendlies against Sweden and Slovenia, and he remains confident in his ability to bounce back.
"At Manchester United it hasn't been a successful season individually," Fernandes told reporters. "I am perfectly aware that I have the capacity to do more and better, as always.
"But I'm not worried about that at the moment because what I always say is that my commitment and dedication is always at its maximum, regardless of whether I represent Portugal or Manchester United.
"That's why I'm calm about it and knowing that the quality of my performances can always improve." Fernandes ended up playing as an emergency centre-back for United in his last game before linking up with Portugal, having dropped back alongside Harry Maguire in extra-time as his side dramatically beat Liverpool 4-3 in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
"I do what's needed to win games," he said after the game. "I don't mind. It wasn't in the plan. It was trying to go man-marking on the pitch, but I felt at moments I could jump on their midfielders and at moments, I could drop a little bit to help H (Maguire) because obviously, Liverpool have a lot of pace up front.
"(Cody) Gakpo came on and he was fresh. H hasn't played for a long time, so I was there to help him and the defenders to get a result. I don't mind, but when I'm far away from the goal, I can't get my goals and assists! But they can't score anyway because I was a centre-half in my early career, so I still got something from that."
Fernandes also avoided a second yellow card for a foul on Dominik Szoboszlai in the second half, with former Arsenal defender Lee Dixon branding him "lucky".
"He's lucky not to get a yellow card, certainly not a straight red," Dixon said while commentating for ITV. "I used to get one of them every 20 minutes playing full-back. If that happens anywhere else on the pitch and he hadn't been booked he would have got a yellow card.
"Absolutely 100 per cent. I think he [referee John Brooks] gives him a yellow card if someone does that on the halfway line."
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https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiX2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lm1pcnJvci5jby51ay9zcG9ydC9mb290YmFsbC9uZXdzL2JydW5vLWZlcm5hbmRlcy12ZXJkaWN0LW1hbmNoZXN0ZXItdW5pdGVkLTMyMzg2ODU50gFjaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubWlycm9yLmNvLnVrL3Nwb3J0L2Zvb3RiYWxsL25ld3MvYnJ1bm8tZmVybmFuZGVzLXZlcmRpY3QtbWFuY2hlc3Rlci11bml0ZWQtMzIzODY4NTkuYW1w?oc=5
2024-03-19 09:34:00Z
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