Message from Mick

Dear Coxhoe Branch,

I'm disappointed it ended 3-1. I think it puts a gloss on it for them that was not naturally there. We played well - certainly in the first half. I said to the players that I thought we got mugged a bit.
We were playing so well and getting forward so well. We've tried to put the ball into the box and have been caught on the break and mugged.
It did fall to a very special player. He's worth £30m. You'd expected him to score when he gets the chance. Having said that we gifted him the opportunity by trying to put he ball into their box and losing possession.
Van der Sar has made the save of the game. We've had just as much of the game as United in the first half.
I was concerned that they could hit us on the break, of course I was, but what do we do? Do we not go forward and not have a go?
If we get 20 draws out of the next 20 games we ain't going to stay up. On a different day we would have scored more. We've had more chances than them in the first half.
The way I viewed it before the game was that their best five or six players are all offensive ones. If we sit back and defend against them, they will pick us off and score.
I have been delighted with the performances over recent weeks.
If we looked at the fixture list, would we have said we were expecting three ponts against United? No.
Of coruse we want to win but we are not expected to. The other games - the West Broms and West Hams - they are the games that we want to pick up points from.
We are now going to have to pick up points away from home but we've proved we are capable of that.
The performance was good and the fitness levels are excellent. In the second half they [United] were a bit comfortable.
When a manager of the standing and knowledge of Sir Alex spends 20-odd million for him [Rooney], then it doesn't really matter what I think [about him]. That speaks volumes for him.
I don't want to say too many nice things about him [Rooney] because he's just beaten us.
I said to [Stephen] Elliott [at half-time] afer he had had a chance in the first half that last year he would have lashed at it. He tried to cross it to Andy Gray and that's not him.
With that self-believe of last year, I just felt he would have shot.
In the second half, well he pulled the trigger and it was a great goal, wasn't it? It gave us a lift for a little while but they got another and finished us off.
We had a go. I would hate to be in the Premier League for 38 games and sit back and not have a go and not give the players the chance to express themselves - and get relegated.
If we have a right good kick at it and try to compete like we did against Manchester United for the most part of the game, that will be my philosophy on it.

All the best,

Mick McCarthy