Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes David De Gea is “mentally strong enough” to deal with the criticism coming his way as Man Utd prepare for a crucial Premier League clash with West Ham.
Victory on Wednesday will see them take a huge stride towards a top-four finish ahead of Sunday’s season-ending trip to fellow hopefuls Leicester.
But Solskjaer’s side head into the game reeling from the disappointment of Sunday’s 3-1 loss to Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals a match in which De Gea produced a calamitous display.
“We’ve just got to stick together, stay strong,” the Man Utd boss said.
“Now we’ve got two games to go and we’ve given ourselves a very good chance. “This is not going to become a David De Gea press conference. We’re just going to stick together. “We’ve got two games, so we’re just going to focus on that one.
“David’s mentally strong enough to know that his job is to perform in training the next day and then be ready for the games
Pushed on De Gea and everybody talking about the goalkeeper, Solskjaer said: “That’s your job to talk about and write about and my job is to prepare the team for West Ham and that’s what we’re doing.
“We’re just focusing on that one. We’re not going to talk about individuals because no one here is going to feel like we put more pressure on them.”
Another negative on a difficult day in the capital was the nasty-looking clash of heads that saw Eric Bailly taken to hospital.
Solskjaer said: “Eric stayed down in London after for all the checks, so he’s done all the checks.
“I didn’t see him yesterday. He’s following the protocols that’s needed so, for me, I don’t think that he’ll be ready for this game. I’ve not seen him this morning yet.
“I think everyone’s available apart from that. No other injuries from last week.