De Gea: United We Stand

In a brilliant interview in the new Inside United magazine, David De Gea discusses dealing with praise for his excellent recent form and unwavering support from fans…

How do you feel about your form so far this season?
I'm very happy with it. I feel like this is a particularly good moment in my career right now and I hope to continue in the same vein for some time to come. I feel like I’m always improving and I want to make sure that continues as well.

You made a wonderful save at Sunderland, which had some pundits describing it as one of the finest they’d ever seen in the Premier League…
When former players make good comments about me, it gives me a lot of pride and also the strength to carry on and improve even more. I was delighted to hear those comments.

How happy were you with the save?
I was very happy with it – not just because it was an instinctive reaction save but more because it came at an important time in the game. We were 1-0 down so if that had gone in, Sunderland would have been 2-0 up and the match would have been very hard to turn around. I think, as a goalkeeper, you are often happier with a save that has an impact on the match than one that is spectacular but not as important. I was very pleased that day to play my part to help the team.

Chicharito spoke very highly of you recently…
Haha! Well, he’s a very good friend of mine and we play together and train together every day, so I don’t know how much you should read into that! But it’s always good to hear positive comments from your team-mates. To have the confidence and trust of your team-mates is the biggest things in football and to hear things like that is very pleasing. It’s a big confidence boost.

David Moyes has also given you plenty of praise…
Yes, that’s right. Again, it’s very important that the manager values your work and now it’s important to continue to play well and help the team. I’m very happy the manager praised me but, for me, the journey doesn’t stop now – I want to keep earning praise and playing well for this team.

At half-time in that game, the fans chanted your name as you left the field. How big a boost is it to have the supporters’ full backing?
It's fantastic. I play for my team-mates and I play for my manager but I also play for the fans. When you win over a club’s fans, it’s a very proud moment. These are the people who pay money to come to watch you every week. You owe it to them to play well and give your best, so it makes me extremely happy to hear the fans singing my name.

Have you always found United fans to be supportive?
Definitely. Right from the beginning they’ve been very good. The fans I meet have always been encouraging and those in the stands have always sung my name. I can’t tell you how good that feels.