De Gea Unfazed By Criticism

Manchester United's David De Gea insists that the media had the right to criticise him after a couple of early mistakes.

De Gea made mistakes in the Community Shield against Manchester City and also in their opening win at West Bromwich Albion.

The young Spaniard, who arrived in the summer for a fee of £17million, was slammed in some sections of the media and his place in United's starting line-up was questioned.

Team-mates and even manager Sir Alex Ferguson jumped to his defence.

But De Gea insists he was right to be criticised and it was up to him to put things right.

"It feels normal, when you do things wrong, even just a couple of mistakes, the press has the right to criticise even more so when you're a goalkeeper as you are always in the spotlight," he told AS.

"What happened is normal; it is now up to me to change those negative reports into praise.

"I am looking to improve after every practice session, every match - but mostly I keep intact my confidence in my own ability and what that can bring to the team.

"I am surrounded by good people and that means we can do great things this year. I will continue to grow as a keeper and have the confidence to be a key player."

De Gea admits being at Manchester United is as fantastic as he imagined it would be.

"It really is incredible - the club, the fans, facilities, atmosphere, everything is from another world," he said.

"You really get the feeling that you belong to a big club, and I am enjoying the experience. I am very happy and things are going well.

"Every day I integrate a bit more, after each moment, training sessions and game, I am enjoying it a lot."

"But we are talking about one of the best clubs in the world, and that always involves pressure and getting immediate results.

"It is normal that things are a bit different, I have new team-mates and football is different from Spain and I have trained just two months with the defence. Everything will get easier, I am convinced about that."

De Gea was also asked about his relationship with Ferguson and admitted that the manager was friendlier than many people perceive.

"As you are with him you realise that he has such an impressive personality," he said.

"And I was surprised how kind he was, just like the rest of the players."

He also confirmed that his English is going well, adding: "It is improving, it is hard in a different country but little by little it is working and I am not worried."