Once again, the time has come for Manchester United supporters the world over to seek solace in Juan Mata’s voice of reason.
The pint-sized Spaniard regularly shares his thoughts by way of his extremely well-written blog, and hasn’t been one to shy away from addressing United’s dismal form in recent times.
In his latest post, he urges them to look forward to the next game – even if it is a Europa League tie against a Danish team that didn’t even exist 20 years ago.
Expressing his disappointment at United’s defeat at Sunderland and failure to capitalise on a weekend where the top four all faced each other, Mata reminded the club’s supporters that there’s no point dwelling on what can’t be changed.
‘Mourning is useless now;’ he writes. ‘Besides, there are still many games to play and many things can happen this season.
‘First of all, our participation in the Europa League. I understand this is not the best possible situation, but it is what it is, and our goal is to keep advancing so we can have the chance to lift this trophy, which would come with a double reward.
‘My personal experience tells me that if we work for it with excitement it could be a positive way to finish the season, as I lived three seasons ago.
‘At the moment we face Midtjylland, the current champions of Denmark, now third in their league. Step by step.’
Wise words from Mata. Let’s hope for his sake at least that he has the opportunity to write something that’s a little less sombre in the coming weeks.
