De Gea Pleased With Form

Ahead of Sunday's FA Cup tie against Swansea, David De Gea spoke exclusively to MUTV’s Countdown to Kick Off programme…

Firstly, Happy New Year. How was Christmas for you here in England?
It was good, thanks. We had a lot of games to play so there wasn’t a lot of time to really enjoy Christmas itself but I was very pleased with the way the games went over the days around Christmas.

And did you get any time to spend with the family?
Yes, a little bit. The small amount of time we had free was spent with the family, which was great and I enjoyed being involved in the matches too.

There are a lot of games to play during the festive period but are there too many, in your opinion?
Well, there are a lot of games in a short space of time and ideally you would like to have a bit more time to play and then recover before the next one, but Christmas is a great time for kids and fans who can’t always get to matches during the season to enjoy a busy period.

What have you made of your season so far on a personal level?
I’m pleased with my contribution so far. I’m very settled here nowadays and am happy with the way I’m playing. I’m still learning and improving all the time and that’s important and I hope to carry on doing that and to keep my spot in the team.

And what about the team’s form at the moment?
We started okay but we’ve picked up plenty of momentum as the season has developed. It was a real shame we couldn’t get all three points against Tottenham the other day but we’re playing well now. We just need to keep performing now and win as many games as we possibly can.

Tell me a little bit about some of your saves this season. Do you have any favourites so far?
No, the way I see it is that every save is important, no matter how simple or difficult. It’s really hard to pick out one particular save from the season so far, when they’re all just as important as each other.

You’re very calm and relaxed in the studio but once you put that United shirt on and pull on the gloves you’re quite different, aren’t you?
Yes, I think that’s important, to be honest. Off the pitch, I like to be friendly and enjoy people’s company but when I’m on the pitch I’m a lot more focused and I concentrate totally on the game.

This weekend, you play against Swansea in the FA Cup. Did you know a lot about the competition before you arrived here in England?
Well, it’s a competition with a lot of history and there’s a lot of romance associated with it, and it would be a terrific trophy to win.

In a competition like this against a team like Swansea, I guess it’s very important to be at home, isn’t it?
Yes, it’s always a boost to play at home because you have all the fans behind you so you feel like you have a lot more support in your favour. That said, we know Swansea are a tough side and it will be a tricky game for us.