Manchester United news: 'Almost all United's failures were down to the players, not Mourinho', says Ander Herrera

What's the story?

Departing Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera has defended former boss Jose Mourinho after his dismal stint as club manager, stating that it is the players who are responsible for seventy-five percent of the side's failures this season.

In case you didn't know

The Red Devils endured a torrid season in the Premier League where they finished in sixth place after having been guided by two managers, Mourinho, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer through the course of the season.

Mourinho was sacked by the club in December last year after having produced a series of dismal results in the first half of the season. To make matters worse, the campaign was also marred by dressing room feuds between the manager and his players.

Solskjaer, who was initially appointed as interim manager, commanded a brief revival of the team who appeared to be going in the right direction for the first time in the season. Under the Norwegian, the club maintained an impressive winning streak in the league while defeating Ligue 1 giants Paris-Saint Germain to progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

The progress was, however, short-lived as the Red Devils went back to being a shadow of their former selves with underwhelming performances and disappointing results to back them.

The heart of the matter

Herrera has now come out in defence of Mourinho, who he believes "tried everything" to make things work at the club. The midfielder said;

"We have to take responsibility. All of us. It's not fair to blame others. When you have a bad season, 75 per cent is the responsibility of the players."

"It's very easy when a manager is sacked to blame someone else, but it is the fault of every one of us."

"Every player in the dressing room has a responsibility for what has happened this season. We have done bad things."

"We have done some good things but, for Manchester United, it is not enough. Probably 14 teams, if they are sixth, they are happy, but Manchester United cannot be happy."

He added, "If we are speaking about this last season, I have huge respect for Jose. He tried everything. The first season with him was quite successful."

"Then we were second and we had a lot of expectation for this season but it didn't work. Not only because of him (but) because, I repeat, every player has responsibility."

What's next?

Manchester United finished their campaign empty-handed and will be looking to re-establish themselves with summer reinforcements in time for the next season.