Will Power

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Van Persie: The Full Interview

If you didn't get to Sunday's game against Liverpool, here's a chance to read the full Q&A with Robin van Persie, as it appeared in the official match programme, United Review...

Firstly, you set the record straight on a few things this week…
That’s right. I don’t mind if my performances get dissected and people criticise what I’ve done on the pitch. What I do mind is when people are taking it upon themselves to think for me, make assumptions or interpret things as if they are me. It’s not fair for the fans to read unnecessary and worrying stories that are untrue. The truth is I’m very happy here at Manchester United. I signed for four years and I’d be delighted to stay even longer. I’m happy with my team-mates and I’m happy with my manager.

How, then, do you assess United’s season so far?
It’s been up and down. Last week’s win at West Brom was quite comfortable and that’s only happened a few times this season. Ideally, you want more of those matches. But any win will do, especially in the coming weeks. We have to try to end the season on a high. We owe that to the fans.

Luck hasn’t always been kind to United this season…
I think it’s easy to call it luck or bad luck. Of course, in some games the luck is on your side and in other games it’s the other way around. It’s important to remember we’ve had some luck as well. But in my opinion, when you encounter back luck, you have to be able to turn that around. It’s up to us to find a way to do that. I am a big believer in making your own luck.

The win at West Brom looked more like the Manchester United we know. We want to see more of that between now and the end of the season, don’t we?
Definitely. We need to go on a good run now and these next two weeks are huge. Each of the next four games are very difficult in their own way. Today’s game against Liverpool will be different to the one against Olympiacos and we’ll prepare differently again for West Ham away and then Manchester City at home. There’s no method of preparation that suits all those matches – in football, every game has its own story – but what is certain is that we have to try to win them all.

Even if winning the league is out of reach now, how important is a strong finish to the season?
You can only look at it game by game. We came into this weekend in sixth place, level with Everton, so all we want to do at the moment is improve from here. You have to be realistic, though, and I admit that winning the league will be very hard, so now it’s a case of making the best out of the situation we find ourselves in. That means winning today’s game and then going out to try to win the next one.

Is this run of big matches, starting today, more important than normal?
It’s always important to win and we’ll approach the next four games as we approach every game – individually. Every game will be looked as one on its own, without looking too far ahead. We just think about preparing so we can win the next game and when that’s out of the way we do the same again for the next one. In that way, this season is no different to any other. This is how we’ve always worked at Manchester United and it’s no different now. Ideally, we’d be top of the league. But just because we’re not it doesn’t change the way we prepare and focus.

What have you made of your own season?
I’ve been a bit up and down. I had a couple of niggles here and there – a problem with my toes, a groin injury and then, for the first time in a few years, a problem with my thigh. After an injury you lose a bit of rhythm, which makes it harder to come back and produce that same level of performance straight away. You need minutes on the pitch and those games I played when I came back really helped me, along with the couple of goals I’ve scored since I came back. My target now is to get stronger, better and more productive each game. Most importantly, I want to help the team win games as that’s what this club is about.

Liverpool are at Old Trafford today. How much have you enjoyed playing in this fixture since you joined the club?
The atmosphere at these games is great. To be honest, the atmosphere at every game is great at Old Trafford, but you can feel this one means a lot to the fans, so by definition also for us. As soon as you enter the tunnel you can really feel the buzz and that gives me an extra boost. I’ve played in this derby three times so far and I’ve loved the experience. I’m fortunate to have experienced these big games throughout my career and I’m looking forward to another one today.

Liverpool have impressed a lot of people this season. What have you made of them?
I think they have a really good manager in Brendan Rodgers and you could see last season, even when they weren’t winning games, they were playing well. The signs were there and you had the feeling something was about to happen, as if the last piece of the puzzle was almost in place. I think it was important for them that Luis Suarez stayed at the club. He makes a big difference.

In many ways, Suarez and Daniel Sturridge isn’t a typical strike partnership. What makes them successful?
I think they show that good players can play with anybody. Everyone can see they’re both very talented individuals so it’s no surprise they play well on the same pitch.

If you keep Suarez and Sturridge quiet, are you half way to beating Liverpool?
It’s too easy to say that. You don’t want to just focus on one or two players because there are so many other players at Liverpool who can also have an impact. If you stop Suarez and Sturridge then that will probably help, but they have players all over the pitch who can hurt you. We’re exactly the same: it’s not that if you stop our strikers or midfielders then you stop Manchester United. Football’s not that simple and that’s why people love it so much and why it’s such an interesting game. There are always surprises in store.

The United fans have been right behind the team this season. Will they play their part in the remaining games of the campaign?
One hundred per cent. Since I joined, almost two years ago now, they’ve been unbelievable. They’ve been amazing in every single game and have played their part. It doesn’t matter who we are playing, what the weather is like, they are always there singing and cheering us on. I also have to give special thanks to the fans who travel to our away matches. No matter where we play, thousands turn up to cheer us on, even when times have been tough and we’ve not played well. They’re always right behind us and have been our 12th man this season. I think I speak for all the players when I say we want to repay our fans for their support this season. They’ve been incredible.

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