Manchester // David Moyes has defended Tom Cleverley after an online petition was launched calling for the Manchester United midfielder to be excluded from England's World Cup squad.
More than 17,000 have signed the petition, which was set up by Glenn McConnell from Blackpool, who criticised the player’s “inept” performances for United and England.
“Tom Cleverley is a fantastic young player who’s developing all the time,” the United manager said. “He is a great trainer. He is first out and every day he does his best in training. He always gives his best and that is why he will succeed.”
Cleverley received the backing of England manager Roy Hodgson, who lashed out at those who had signed the petition.
The midfielder did not feature for England in their friendly win over Denmark but he is fit for United's game against West Brom on Saturday.
A letter from Moyes to United season ticket holders came to light on Friday. In it, the Scot thanked the fans for their support during what he conceded was a sub-par season.
Moyes repeated that message at his pre-match press conference.
“We have great support,” he said. “The supporters understand the difficult period we are in and they are backing the players.
“I believe that the players are working hard for each other. They know they can play better and they will play better.”
Last week’s League Cup final and the international break mean Moyes’ side have been without a match for 11 days.
Their last performance was one of the worst of the season. A 2-0 defeat against Olympiakos put Moyes' men on the brink of elimination from the Uefa Champions League.
The big gap between fixtures has been both a help and hindrance to the United manager.
“It has allowed some players to get games, like Darren Fletcher, Shinji Kagawa and Javier Hernandez, the people who have not featured as much as we would like,” Moyes said. “But certainly it’s also been a hindrance because we went into it off a bad performance and result in Olympiakos and we wanted to put it right much sooner.”
United have the advantage of facing a team in a far worse predicament than their own this weekend.
West Brom have not won a match since Pepe Mel replaced Steve Clarke as head coach of the midlands club.
West Brom were forced to deny speculation that Mel was on the verge of the sack despite only being in the job less than two months.
Moyes is sure the Spaniard’s job is not under threat even though the Baggies are just one point above the drop zone.
“I’d be very surprised if Pepe Mel is under pressure at this moment,” he said. “I wouldn’t think for one minute that after six games they were thinking about bringing in a new manager.”
Clarke led West Brom to eighth in the league last season, but he was dismissed in December following a poor run of form.
Moyes admitted he was surprised to see his compatriot sacked.
“I’m not aware what has gone on at West Brom but he’s a good manager and proved that in his time at West Brom,” he said.
Cardiff City v Fulham
Cardiff manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has warned Fulham that his team will settle for nothing but a win.
The Welsh side are in desperate need of points having won just one of their past 12 league games.
“It’s the biggest game,” Solskjaer said. “You just want your players express themselves with no fear.”
Crystal Palace v Southampton
Crystal Palace manager Tony Pulis could be without Marouane Chamakh for the clash against Southampton.
The striker injured a hamstring in last weekend’s 1-1 draw at Swansea City and is struggling to be fit. Kagisho Dikgacoi is hopeful he can play some part against Southampton.
Norwich City v Stoke City
Stoke midfielder Charlie Adam misses the trip to Norwich as he begins a three-match suspension for stamping on Olivier Giroud in last weekend’s win over Arsenal.
Forward Peter Odemwingie, who missed last week’s match with a calf problem, could return to the squad.
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