Park Wants Pivotal Role

Ji-sung Park is determined to put his early-season injuries behind him and help United push for an unprecedented fourth consecutive English league title...

You must be delighted to be back from injury and playing again…
It’s a pleasure and it was a special moment when the fans sang my song when I came back. I was really proud to hear that. It has been difficult being injured because you feel you’re not doing anything to help the team. When you play you feel more a part of the side. This season I’ve missed five or six weeks because of my knee injury, but the team is still competing for four trophies, which is the main thing. Now, it feels like the start of the season all over again, and what matters is what happens from now.

New signings have increased the competition for places - are you enjoying the challenge?
It’s good for the players and the team. Competition makes the players improve because everyone wants to play and keep their own place, so they work hard. This keeps the team strong and constantly improving.

What are your aims for the rest of 2009/10?
I want to play as many games as possible and help the team win as much as possible, starting with the title. It would be amazing to win four in a row – a record. To make three Champions League finals in a row would also be amazing for the club. The FA Cup is the one I haven’t won yet, so I want that, but all four would be great!

What is the side focusing on at the moment - pushing Chelsea all the way in the New Year?
Yes of course. We have a lot of games until the end of the season and December and January are particularly busy. It’s going to be hard, but we have done well at this stage in the last few seasons, so we have to do that again. We can’t worry about other teams' form, we just have to concentrate and do our best in every game.

And of course there’s the small matter of the derby - and Carlos Tevez again - in the Carling Cup semi-final…
The derby is always special for the players and the fans, and the fact that it’s a semi-final adds to that. The media will be hyping it up and we’ll be looking forward to it. I still speak to Carlos and I still see him, together with Pat [Patrice Evra], but I couldn’t text him about the draw because he still doesn’t speak English and I can’t speak Spanish!