AFC Bournemouth
AFC Bournemouth head coach Gary O’Neil is hoping his players can recreate the “special feeling” of winning against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
O’Neil achieved the feat during his two-year spell with Norwich City, playing his part as the Canaries triumphed 2-1 at the iconic venue in December 2015.
He takes his Cherries squad to the North West on Tuesday to face a team revitalised under the stewardship of Erik ten Hag, United having suffered one defeat in 15 games in all competitions.
Currently fourth, United were in the same position when Norwich, who were third from bottom having been promoted alongside the Cherries, headed to Old Trafford seven years ago.
Goals from Cameron Jerome and Alexander Tettey won the day for the Norfolk outfit with O’Neil heading back to Old Trafford (8pm kick-off) following the Cherries’ 2-0 defeat by Crystal Palace.
Asked about his win at the venue, O’Neil replied: “It was a good day. It’s a tough place to go and I didn’t have many successes there.
“Norwich were newly-promoted and in a relegation battle so to go there and get a victory was big for us. It was a special feeling, hopefully, we can recreate that on Tuesday.”
Previewing the game, he added: “We treat every game as the most important one. The Crystal Palace game was important but we failed to deliver.
“We will review it, make sure it doesn’t look like that again and move on to the next one. We need to make sure we are fully committed so that will always be me and the group are very good at it so I expect to see a response.
“It’s going to be a tough game because they are a top side. Erik ten Hag has done some fantastic work there and they seem to have turned a corner and are much better than before he went in.
“But it’s the Premier League, it’s what’s coming so we need to make sure we’re ready. It’s a great place to play and the boys worked their socks off last season for the opportunity to play at places like this so let’s go and give it everything.
“We will need to be well-organised, resolute and will need to suffer for spells and make sure we are willing to dig in and show character.
“Then, we will need to show some quality, far better than we did against Crystal Palace, to cause them some problems.”
O’Neil also gave an update on the fitness of injured trio Marcus Tavernier, Neto and David Brooks who are currently sidelined by injury.
On Tavernier’s hamstring issue, O’Neil said: “We’re probably looking at a few more weeks, we’re not sure exactly, it depends how well he progresses but it’s looking like a few more weeks.
“Neto is getting closer. He’s done some good stuff on the grass, he’s been doing some running and goalkeeping but he hasn’t done much kicking yet.
“He shouldn’t be too far away but as he has been out for a long time, he will need some work once he’s back in training to get up to speed.
“David Brooks is doing well. He missed a few days with the virus but his hamstring is going well. He’s moving well on the grass so, hopefully, he will be back around the squad soon.”
