BRUNO FERNANDES backed Ruben Amorim’s blast at his stumbling stars and stressed: You’ve got to have the balls to play for Manchester United.

Boss Amorim caused a storm last week when he branded United’s fall-guys the worst side in the club’s history.

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Bruno Fernandes says Man Utd must handle the pressure better[/caption]

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Ruben Amorim’s astonishing blast ‘inspired’ Fernandes[/caption]

He later admitted he went too far — yet Fernandes reckons he was bang on.

And the Red Devils skipper said: “The reality is to play here you have to have that pressure, you have to have the balls to play for this club — that is what it is.

“You have to feel that in every moment in every game it is a new chance to bring us back to the position we deserve.

“Unfortunately for us this season there have been too many ups and downs and every time we look like getting there, we get punched again and go down.

“What we have to do is every time we take a punch and go down, we must get up and try to punch back.”

Fernandes certainly did that with his last-gasp winner in a dramatic Europa League clash with Rangers on Thursday.

And he admitted Amorim’s outburst after last weekend’s 3-1 loss to Brighton inspired him to those final-second heroics.

Fernandes added: “I don’t want to hear my manager saying certain things about the team because I know he doesn’t feel it.

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“But he made himself part of that and when the manager makes himself part of what he’s saying, no one can get angry or disappointed by it.

“When he says ‘the worst team in Manchester’, he speaks about the position we are in and when you look at where we are in the league we ARE in the worst position we’ve ever been.

“So you have to take it, that’s the reality unfortunately. We are in this position for a  long time and the club doesn’t belong there.

“But we have to accept that and understand we need to push ourselves to much bigger things and higher positions.”

LUCAS BERGVALL reckons his rapid rise at injury-ravaged Tottenham shows he was right to snub Barcelona.

The Swede, 18, looked set to join the LaLiga giants last January but opted for North London at the eleventh hour.

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Lucas Bergvall has no regrets about snubbing Barcelona for Tottenham[/caption]

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Ange Postecoglou’s side have struggled greatly this season[/caption]

And one key reason for the change of heart was a feeling that his chances of getting game-time were higher at Spurs.

Bergvall officially moved from Djurgarden in July for £8.5million — and is set to make his 27th appearance of the season in today’s Premier League clash with Leicester.

He has started five of Spurs’ last six games, netting his first goal for the club in a 1-0 win over Liverpool earlier this month, in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final.

Bergvall said: “When I decided, I thought that Tottenham was the best club for me. It is a great club with good ambitions.

“I feel I am getting better every day. Training with all the boys and all the staff, I’m getting used to it.

“It’s not an easy change coming from the Swedish league.

“Everything is different. The running, the physical part… everything.”

There was a lot of excitement around Bergvall when he first arrived, particularly after rejecting a club as mighty as Barca.

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His new team-mate Pape Matar Sarr added to the hype in August when asked which of the club’s summer signings had impressed him most.

The Senegal star — who is a doubt for today’s game — said: “Lucas. He is a really great player.

“I really love his style. He’s never under pressure when he’s on the ball. Technically, he’s fantastic. He’s bound to be one of the world’s top players. He’s got all the assets. With work, he’ll get to the very top.”

It was some appraisal from the 22-year-old and, in truth, it took a little bit of time for Bergvall to live up to it with some underwhelming early-season  displays as he got to grips with his new environment.

In November’s 3-2 defeat against Galatasaray, for example, he was guilty of holding on to the ball too long in the lead-up to the Turkish hosts’ second goal.

But he kept racking up the substitute appearances and making the odd start here and there, learning, improving, adapting, before really kicking on over the last six weeks.

Bergvall’s breakthrough moment came against Liverpool when he netted the only goal to give Spurs a precious lead going into the second leg at Anfield a week on Thursday.

Since then, he has been a regular name in Postecoglou’s starting XI.

Spurs’ injury crisis boosted his chances of playing but there have times when he has been picked ahead of the likes of England star James Maddison purely on form.

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Bergvall is hoping to inspire his Spurs teammates back to winning ways[/caption]

Bergvall looked exhausted as he dropped to the turf at the end of Thursday’s crucial 3-2 win over Hoffenheim in the Europa League.

That victory means a top-eight spot and a path straight into the last 16, without having to worry about a pesky play-off next month, is within Spurs’ grasp, with Thursday’s final group game against Elfsborg to come.

But it was also a vital victory after a horror run of results which saw Spurs win just one of their last ten Premier League games, plummeting down the table and even sparking talk of the club finding themselves dragged into   relegation scrap.

And Bergvall feels it is vital to take the boost in morale from Hoffenheim into today’s game against the struggling Foxes and rediscover get that winning feeling in the league once more.

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Three points would also ease the considerable pressure on Aussie manager Postecoglou, who is facing a testing time midway through his second season at Tottenham.

Bergvall added: “It was an important game in Europe, we needed to win to keep going.

“For the confidence too, we’ve had a tough time in the last few weeks, so it was really important.

“It’s difficult. We have 11 or 12 fit senior players, maybe more, it’s a tough period. We just have to keep going and fight.

“Especially now in tough times, when we have a lot of injuries, everyone needs to perform.

“We have to keep going. We don’t have any other option. He’s the coach and of course we work for him.”

BRUNO FERNANDES wants to lead Manchester United into a new era of last-gasp Fergie Time heroics.

And if he does, it will answer the one question which had him stumped after his midweek Europa League late supershow: Whether Red Devils boss Ruben Amorim wears a watch.

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Bruno Fernandes has called for the club to bring back Fergie time[/caption]

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He scored a crucial late winner against Rangers in the Europa League[/caption]

Eamonn and James Clarke

The captain has also backed Ruben Amorim[/caption]

In two triumphant decades under Sir Alex Ferguson, even those with only a passing interest in football had no doubt.

Barely a week went by without football’s greatest gaffer very publicly checking his wrist to make a point about stoppage time — and so often it ended with a late goal for United.

There has been precious little of it in the decade since Ferguson’s final farewell — but now playmaker  Fernandes has made it his mission to bring them back under the latest man to fill Fergie’s boots.

There have already been murmurings of it in just 16 games with the Portuguese manager in charge — five late-show strikes, in fact.

And after his 92nd-minute goal to beat Scottish giants Rangers made him the latest name on the list — in every respect — Fernandes knew the subject of United’s stoppage-time history was coming.

As a keen student of the club’s past, yes, of course he was well aware of Fergie Time.

But no, there hadn’t been enough of it under Amorim for him to know if his boss even had a watch, never mind had cause to check it in front of any watching official.

Yet as he vowed to turn grand finales from exception to the norm once more, he will not be in the dark for much longer.

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It might not be good for the nerves, but that is part of the deal for any club with pretensions of greatness. And United certainly have plenty of them.

Fernandes, 30, admitted: “I think that, ever since I have been at this club, that has always been a part of things.

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Sir Alex Ferguson’s sides were famous for late comebacks and winning goals[/caption]

“We always talk about Sir Alex’s time, you know, when he looks at his watch and United will grab a goal for sure.

“I don’t know if the manager has a watch to look at, but obviously we need to have that belief and even more like this — because we knew we still had two or three minutes to play.

“So you have to try and go forward to get one because you  can only win games where you’re at this club — nothing less is expected of you.

“Of course,  we know we are not in the position this club was many, many years ago and have a long, long way to go as a team — but we are on our path.

“We know it won’t be as easy as they made it look, because obviously they had great players in the past at this club and a great manager who led the club to many trophies.

“But we have to make our own way. And as tough as it is, and as difficult as it can be, we are going to fight for this club to try and make it back.”

In fairness, United have come up with the goods in the dying embers of the game more than once this season.

Admittedly, not quite so dramatically as against  Rangers —  but late enough nonetheless at Manchester City and Liverpool and at home to struggling Southampton in the Premier League.

All thanks to Ivory Coast winger Amad Diallo,  as well.

Oh, plus a late winner over Czech side Viktoria Plzen from Danish striker Rasmus Hojlund a fortnight before Christmas.

It’s the games in between that have been the problem, powder-puff defeats to the likes of Wolves, Bournemouth and Brighton.

The last of them finally pushed Amorim over the edge, as the affable gaffer gave way to a steam-coming-out-of-his-ears attack dog.

So furious that he smashed a television on the dressing-room wall and slammed his flops as the worst United team in history.

When the red mist cleared, Amorim relented and admitted maybe he should have taken a breath before sounding off.

Yet far from taking the huff, Fernandes was right behind his fellow countryman.

He added: “I am pretty sure it was in a moment of rage.

“I am Portuguese and I know that pretty quickly the blood comes up, so it’s just in that moment.

“I was here with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, one of the calmest people I’ve met, and he had this sometimes, too.

“As a manager you depend on the results and sometimes you need to have these kinds of words to your players.

“It wasn’t anything out of context — or something we didn’t deserve in  the moment.”

The challenge now is to make sure there is no cause for them again…

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French league leaders Paris Saint-Germain could only manage a 1-1 home draw against Reims while Monaco beat Rennes 3-2 to move up to third place

A man has died after being stabbed during a brawl inside a home, with another man now arrested and under police guard.

Real Madrid have moved four points clear atop the Spanish league with a 3-0 win as nearest rivals Atletico Madrid could only manage a draw.

Conflict has intensified in Congo where peacekeepers have been killed as rebels seize more territory, with the UN warning of the risk of a broader regional war.

Former Sydney Thunder skipper Jason Sangha has a golden chance to emerge from a third straight injury-marred BBL season with a trophy.

Cineasta está entre os mais bem pagos do mundo

HE is on a mission to help our pets  . . . and is here to answer YOUR questions.

Sean, who is the head vet at tailored pet food firm tails.com, has helped with owners’ queries for ten years.

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Sean helps a reader whose rabbit bangs his back legs[/caption]

He says: “If your pet is acting funny or is under the weather, or you want to know about nutrition or exercise, just ask. I can help keep pets happy and healthy.”

Q) MY rabbit Ginge bangs his back legs, like Thumper the rabbit from Disney’s Bambi movie.

He does it when he sees me or is happy about something. Is that a ­normal thing to do or is he a bit of a weirdo?

Emma Bryant, Plymouth

A) Perfectly normal rabbit behaviour. In the wild, it tends to be an alarm signal, alerting others in the warren to danger nearby.

That could be a predator or a strange ­rabbit that’s unknown to the colony.

It’s a social behaviour that leads to cohesion and safety, so perhaps Ginge is using it in his domestic setting to say: “I’m excited to see you friend”.

Whenever I hear of a single rabbit pet, I feel I must mention that they are a highly social species.

So if Ginge doesn’t currently have another rabbit friend I urge you to get him one. Rabbit rescues can help with the bonding process.

Q) MOOSE, my Beagle Boxer cross, is very flatulent.

He eats a mixture of wet and dry supermarket food.

I admit he has a penchant for a snack of pork pie if I’m eating one. How can I stop him being so windy?

Andrew Woodhouse, Sheffield

A) Haha, what a conundrum!

Beagles are basically a stomach on legs and one of the breeds most prone to obesity.

Just like Labradors, they will eat almost anything.

So flatulence is often par for the course.

I would recommend against pork pies, as they are highly calorific, and unlikely to help Moose’s gut health.

Fibre content of the food can have a bearing on flatulence, as can ingredients he is intolerant or allergic to.

So try him on a hypoallergenic diet, or look to adjust his fibre levels. Pre- and probiotics can help.

There are also diets formulated for sensitive digestion.

Drop us a line on hello@tails.com and we will be able to come up with a suitable tailor-made recipe for Moose that leads to a more pleasant odour at home.

Q) ONE minute my two Burmese cats are wrapped around one another, the next they are ­having a major fight.

Raffles and Reilly are 12-year-old brothers and were always chilled and loving house cats.

This all started when my husband passed away at the end of last year.

They were also put on a diet by the vet and are now their target weight.

Ever since, they have been constantly demanding food and stealing any they can get to.

The fights are nasty — all hell breaks loose.

I have sprayed them with water and put one in the bathroom to break aggression.

I have Feliway Optimum plug-ins throughout the house, a cat therapist visited and used Bach Flower Remedies but neither has helped.

I am at my wits’ end.

Nancy Rowe, Gosport, Hampshire

A) Firstly, I’m sorry to hear about your husband passing.

Like dogs, cats will react to the loss of an owner with sadness, withdrawal and sometimes even depression-like symptoms.

I’m at a loss to explain why fighting has become an issue here but wading in with further negative action will only add to the conflict.

So don’t spray them, raise your voice or even react to the behaviour.

The reduced access to food can also be a trigger.

Cats, even siblings, will subtly compete for resources like food, shelter and vantage points.

So make sure they have plenty of options to get away from each other to feed, toilet and rest.

It might be time to get a qualified animal behaviourist in to observe them and advise on their triggers.

Star of the week

GREMLIN the Shih Tzu had fur so matted he couldn’t see.

Now his future looks bright in a loving new home after his rescue by UK charity Blue Cross.

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Gremlin the Shih Tzu had fur so matted he couldn’t see[/caption]

Staff had struggled to tell the two-year-old’s gender or breed because his fur was so overgrown.

But after a haircut and some TLC, he is a different dog.

Amanda Rumball at Blue Cross, said: “Poor Gremlin was in such a sorry state.

“We treated him at our animal hospital in central London before transferring him to our rehoming centre in Burford, West Oxfordshire.”

Now Gremlin has adoring owners in accounts manager Nina, 50, and tech adviser Gerry Stock, 54, in Luton, Bedfordshire. See bluecross.org.uk.

Kind cat lovers call for law change

AN ARMY of animal lovers are saving pets 24/7 on Britain’s streets.

Gizmo’s Legacy, set up by Helena Abrahams, has more than 1,500 volunteers searching for strays and collecting and identifying pets who have sadly died.

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Gizmo’s Legacy has more than 1,500 volunteers searching for strays[/caption]

Helena, 53, from Bury, Greater Manchester, founded the group in 2016.

She says: “People call us the 4th emergency service.

“Animals are being dumped because owners can no longer afford to keep them.”

Gizmo’s Legacy gets hundreds of calls daily.

It is named after Helena’s cat Gizmo, who was hit by a car and disposed of, with no attempt to contact Helena.

Last year it became law that cats must be microchipped.

Helena is campaigning for a change in the law for all cats killed on roads to be checked for microchips so they can be reunited with their owners before they are cremated.

She says: “Gizmo was run over then put to sleep without anybody contacting me.

“So now I campaign for others not to go through the same heartbreak.

“Our charity collects pets killed on the road and takes them to a vet where they are kept for seven days before cremation in case any owners appear.”

See gizmoslegacy.co.uk.