‘If we were so bad could we have beat Man United?’ – Dick Advocaat argues that he deserves more respect
Fenerbahce have come under fire from sections of the media and the fanbase this season for leading a disappointing campaign.
See More: Battle of the Titans – Arsenal v Man Utd: Premier League Preview2017/04/28
Fenerbahce manager Dick Advocaat has however, hit back at the critics.
Advocaat claimed that he and his side deserve more respect following their 2-1 victory over Caykut Rizespor.
The Dutch manager underlined that a team capable of beating Manchester United cannot be overly criticised.
“If we were so bad could we have beat Man United? could we have topped the group?” Advocaat was quoted as saying by Turkish-Football.
“We all need to accept that there are good teams in Turkey and that this is a tough league.
“We all deserve a bit more respect.
“What we have missed this season is the fans, if we had 40,000 fans every game like we have in the past it would have been a different story.”
Fenerbahce did finish the Europa League Group A in first place, beating United at the Sukru Saracoglu stadium 2-1.
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
Moussa Sow scores an overhead kick against Manchester United#MUFC #Fenerbahçe pic.twitter.com/a5Ijt0fGEo— Turkish Football (@Turkish_Futbol1) November 3, 2016
The Yellow Canaries have invested heavily over the past two seasons but failed to win the league title last season.
The Istanbul giants are currently 3rd in the Turkish league table, nine points behind Besiktas with five games remaining.
To be fair, the former Sunderland manager was almost setup for failure from the very beginning.
Advocaat was appointed manager with just a week remaining in the transfer window.
The experience coach was unable to really make his mark on the team in the transfer market and did not have a pre-season to work on implementing his system.
Fenerbahce may be out of the title race but the battle for a runners-up spot is still on.
The Canaries would guarantee Champions League football if they close the four point gap with second placed Basaksehir.
