Last season you passed the landmark of 100 appearances for United. Does that give you a sense of pride when you think about that milestone and do you pay attention to statistics like that?
“Ah man, I wasn’t even expecting this, it took me by surprise when you just told me now. I’m really pleased, I’m really happy, it represents a great landmark for me, it’s what everyone aims for. I hope I can play many more games for United. I’d like to leave a legacy here. It’s somewhere all players want to be, so I look to do my best, play in many more games and make history here.”
How do you feel the squad and the team has developed in the time you’ve been here?
“Obviously some players came in, others moved on. I think right now we have a very united group. Our group is heading in just one direction, we’re all looking in the same direction, at our objectives for the season. Now, with the arrival of some players, we have a very strong squad. I think we have one of the best squads in England and we hope to continue working together as a squad, aim to do our best so that we can achieve our objectives.”
The 2020/21 season was so busy, with a truncated schedule. Did it mean that your training timetable looked very different, with more emphasis on recovery rather than focusing on tactics?
“It really depended [on the games]. Sometimes the day after a game we had recovery work and two days later there was a game, so sometimes there wasn’t much time left to look at tactics. Sometimes there was a three-day rest period and you could work on tactics. It varied and we needed to know how to deal with it in terms of physical preparation and how to balance these things in training. But the staff here know what they are doing.”
How much do you personally enjoy the day-to-day training, and which player in the squad would you say is the ultimate trainer?
“Man, we have to make the most of our day-to-day training and always be happy. I always arrive here happy to be training. It’s difficult to single out just one player, we all have a strong desire to train, training sessions here are brilliant. We all arrive really eager to train and that’s very important. It’s good if you train well, you can bring that into games. Day-to-day training is really important and all the players here train really well.”
Fred: I want to make history here
