London: Ryan Giggs has made collecting silverware a habit during his magnificent Manchester United career but the rare lean times have had a greater impact, according to the veteran Welshman.
Champions United have begun 2014 with three consecutive defeats and according to the 40-year-old, it hurts.
"I have said over the years that the defeats and losses generate a bigger feeling than winning things. It sticks with you a lot longer. You have to react and you have to try to do something about it," Giggs told Sky Sports News. It hurts. There are players at this club who only know winning. It is a test of character but I am fully confident we will come through it and we will be okay."
United have not lost three successive matches since 2001 and new manager David Moyes finds himself under intense scrutiny, not least from former manager Alex Ferguson who was in the stands on when they lost 2-1 to bottom club Sunderland in the first leg of the Capital One (League) Cup semi-final, on Tuesday.
NO PANIC
Despite the current malaise, however, Giggs said there is no sense of panic in the ranks, although it was up to himself and other multiple title winners like Michael Carrick and Rio Ferdinand to steady the ship.
"We have never got carried away too much when we have been winning trophies and it's also the case that you don't get carried away when you're losing," said Giggs, who scored an own goal for the first time in his career at Sunderland. We don't get too down about it but we want to do something about it. I think it's important for the older players, who have been through this before and been through sticky patches to help the younger ones, who may only have known winning."
United, down in seventh in the league, 11 points behind leaders Arsenal, host Swansea City on Saturday, six days after the Welsh club won at Old Trafford for the first time in their history, a shock 2-1 success in the FA Cup.
A second home defeat by the Swans in a week is unthinkable and Giggs insists confidence remains high.
"We probably haven't been playing to the best of our ability, both individually and as a team. But if we do that, we will win more matches than we lose," he said. We are confident even though it has been a bit of a tricky spell for us. The team spirit is good within the dressing room but we need to prove what good players we are on the pitch. We are just thinking about doing what we did six weeks ago and trying to get back to the form that allowed us to go on a run of six wins. That is what we will need to do if we are to climb back up the table. We need to start winning and winning fast."
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