Steve Morison admitted there was not a smile in the room as Norwich City left Old Trafford on Saturday with a mix of bitter disappointment and pride on Saturday.

The Canaries gave Premier League champions Manchester United more than just a run for their money and, but for some profligate finishing, should have found themselves ahead before Sir Alex Ferguson’s side used all their nous to come through in the final quarter of the afternoon.

“We gave a very good account of ourselves and it’s all well and good walking away saying that, but I thought we could have got something out of the game; as well as we’ve played and the chances we’ve created, we need to put some away,” said Morison.

“There was great backing from the fans and they got right behind us all game, which was fantastic, and the lads in there – the disappointment on all our faces is a credit to us.

“It’s a very good thing that we’re all sitting there disappointed and not smiling that we only lost 2-0 to Manchester United at Old Trafford.

“We are in this league to try and stay here and we’ve got to do performances like that if we’re to do it, and show we can go to any ground in the country and get something out of these games.”

Morison put in a tireless display on a baking October day – but also rued some missed opportunities of his own, including a scuffed second-half effort from close range and failing to squeeze the ball across to an unmarked Wes Hoolahan as City broke.

While the best chance fell to winger Anthony Pilkington, who missed the far post with just goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard to beat having done well to capitalise on Antonio Valencia’s hesitancy.

“We are disappointed; I’m guilty of it and so are a few other lads, but that’s what happens in the Premier League – they go down the other end and score a scrappy goal,” added the Wales striker, who lamented being unable to find Hoolahan when City breached the United defence.

“You see it so many times, it goes through his legs or he just misses it but he (Phil Jones) hits it and he got a very, very good block in. It’s just one of those things. Next week it might go straight through him and Wes tucks it in.

“Would I do anything different? We’d score – that’s the only thing I would do different. You try and do everything right and my chance second half, I hit the ball across the goal and the defender has got back and got a block.

“Pilks has gone through and he puts it a foot the other way, it’s a goal. Then they went up the other end and scored a scrappy goal. We should have got the ball clear, we didn’t and they’ve nodded it in. That’s life in the Premier League.

“We still had chances after that, so we can hold our heads high in that respect, but we are disappointed we didn’t get something.”

Record October temperatures and Old Trafford’s expansive pitch made for thirsty work – especially for Morison, who had looked isolated at times during the first half but was better supported after the break.

Not that the hard graft worried the striker, who will hook up with his international team-mates ahead of Wales’ home clash with Switzerland on Friday.

“It’s what you get paid to do, don’t you. You go out there, work hard, run around and see what you can do – and I think we did more than that today, and I think it’s very pleasing,” added Morison.

“It’s disappointing not to get anything. It was a tough old afternoon. A good one from a performance point of view but not a good one in terms of the result.

“You come to places like this and, as we said before the game, we didn’t want to come here and be overawed and be a bit start struck, and I don’t think we did that.

“We came out, had a game plan, it worked and we created chances. We knew it would before the game, we just needed to implement it on the pitch and we did that.

“To be walking away from Old Trafford disappointed is a good thing and something to be proud of.”