United have lost successive games for first time under Louis van Gaal
• ‘Right from the first minute we were off the pace,’ says Smalling
• Match report: Everton 3-0 Manchester United
• Van Gaal slams Manchester United for complacency at Everton
• Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action
Chris Smalling hopes Manchester United’s 3-0 defeat to Everton will serve as a “massive wake-up call” to those who felt Champions League qualification was already in the bag.
If results had gone their way, United would have started this week second in the Premier League but now they are looking over their shoulders after dropping to fourth.
After winning six on the trot, United have lost successive games for the first time under Louis van Gaal and they will be only four points ahead of Liverpool if Brendan Rodgers’ side win their match in hand at Hull on Tuesday.
Smalling agreed with Van Gaal’s assessment that United lacked aggression from the first whistle and he wants an instant response from his team-mates on Saturday when West Brom come to Old Trafford.
“This is a massive wake-up call for us,” the United defender told MUTV. “Right from the first minute we were off the pace and they had a pressure that we usually have.
“We haven’t been the second-best team in games this season, even when we’ve lost, we’ve always had that aggression and those tackles but on Sunday we were far from it. I think we’ll see a different Manchester United against West Brom. We’ll make sure we learn from this, the fans deserve a lot better.”
Juan Mata echoed Smalling’s thoughts. “We can’t afford another game like this one,” he wrote on his blog.
“We are in the final stage of the season and we must try to win each of the remaining games. The goal is to get four wins in the last four games of the Premier League. We need to return all the support we get from our fans [at Goodison Park they were brilliant, once again] and we hope to do it against West Brom.
“We all want to be in the Champions League next season and, in order to get there, we must go back to the right path with good performances and good results.”
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