Welbeck: United Heart And Soul

Born in Longsight, raised on the dream of playing in front of the Stretford End, it's not just his job as a Manchester United player that fuels Danny Welbeck come matchday. "I feel that passion inside me," he tells United Review. "I'll give my best because Manchester United is very important to me…"

What are United's targets for the league, and the rest of the season?
As a team we want to improve, but to do that the only thing you can look at is your next performance. We have to get that right and from there we can look to climb up the table. We're not in the position we should be in as Manchester United, in terms of the way we play and as a whole club. We really want to get further up that table. We've got to put it right. You can't dwell on the negatives too much because that's just a bigger distraction to putting things right and doing want we want to achieve. We've got to look forward.

This season, the team has played well in parts of games and in runs of matches, but how do you find consistency?
It's been stop-start this season, we know that. It's the hardest thing to do in this league and in football; maintain consistency throughout the whole season. But that is what Manchester United have done for as long as I've known. We need to see if we can get that consistency in our performances and our results, and gather momentum. We need to set a platform that we can build on.

Being from Manchester and a United fan, do you feel it personally when the team suffers a setback?
Yeah, I'm a local lad and a fan myself, not just a player in the team. It hurts. It hurts a lot when I see that United aren't doing as well as we know we can. I feel that extra passion inside me and I want to do everything I can for my team, my team-mates and the club I support because Manchester United means so much.

You're on an impressive scoring run. Are you pleased with your form?
I always knew that if I had the opportunity to play up front that I would be getting into scoring positions more regularly and I would score goals. That's what I've done since I was a kid. But, previously, I was playing on the wing and you're not going to get into the same positions to score goals. I've seen people say, 'Oh, he must have been working hard on his finishing in the last few weeks', but that's not the case. I've done what I've always done but I think it's about opportunities. It's difficult to get the chances from the wing. But, to be honest, I'd rather I had no goals against my name this season and we were top of the league. I'm just trying to do my best for the team.

So, you've not done anything different in training?
I train hard every single day. Being brought up through the Academy here, it's instilled in you to work hard in training. Obviously I've looked at different aspects of my game and tried to improve certain things but, as I said, now I've been playing up front I'm getting the opportunities in scoring situations and thankfully I've been putting them away. Hopefully I'll carry on doing that.

Does your approach change at all in a different position?
Yeah, you've got a different job on your hands. On the wing, there is perhaps more defending that is part of the role, especially if you're playing against an attacking full-back. You can lose a lot of your energy getting back to defend. As a striker, playing right up front, you've got more energy to burn because you're concentrating on that burst for an attacking situation – getting in behind defenders, coming short to get on the ball. You're doing a bit of everything and I feel much sharper when I've got the ball further up the pitch.

This season, with your scoring record, your confidence must be sky-high. When you get a chance now you must be thinking: I'll score this...
Once I get into the position to score – and you work on this in training as well – you get more accustomed to it. Once you're there you know what you want to do in that particular situation, and through practice over the years it comes to you more as instinct, as second nature.

You've scored nine goals this season and David Moyes mentioned a 20-goal target – is that what you're aiming towards?
I think 20 goals is a good target for any striker to set at this level, but I've not sat down and thought, 'I need to reach this many goals this season.' I want to score goals wherever I play. I've enjoyed playing up front and getting good opportunities to score. If I'm on the left wing then I'll still want to score but I know that I'll have other duties in the team. I just really want to apply myself for the team and give my best because Manchester United is very important to me.

There's more to your game than just goals – do you think scoring regularly allows fans to appreciate your other attributes: speed, skill, bringing others into play...
When it comes down to it, strikers are judged on goals. I know that. There are strikers out there that just score goals, the poachers. There are strikers that are team players, bringing others into play. It's good to have a bit of everything so that you can adapt to every situation. I think I can play in behind the striker or up top. But then I also look at it simply: I just enjoy playing football for Manchester United.

Fans' questions
Followers of the official @ManUtd Twitter feed posted questions for Welbz…

There's a cult following of Ravel Morrison's tweets about you. He tweeted: "Welbz is dat guy". Were you aware of that? And are you 'dat guy'? - Tom Coast
Ravel is too much! [laughs] In Manchester where we both grew up, it's sort of a slang term as praise, 'He's just that guy.' That guy could be anything, though. But that's funny that Rav said that. I'm not on twitter so I had no idea about it and I'd not seen that before. Rav is dat guy though.

How do you keep your hair in such amazing shape? - @OleOleUnited
I've got a good barber called Chris Rock. But it's not the American comedian, he definitely doesn't cut my hair. Chris Rock, he's good.

What's your favourite goal this season? - Joe Cowling
Probably the chip at Swansea, I was pleased with that one. It would either be that goal or the one at Norwich over Christmas, just because it was important to get the three points.

What do you make of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's return to the Premier League with Cardiff, and was he an inspiration or influence on your career? - Emma Ashby
One hundred per cent, he was an inspiration to me as a young player growing up and also when I was fortunate enough to train with him and to be coached by him. Growing up as a United fan, I saw Ole play for United and score so many goals and saw what he did for Manchester United; he was great. I'm positive Ole will do really well in the Premier League and I wish him all the best.