Thorpe Thirsts For More First-team Action

Tom Thorpe is hoping for more first-team football at Manchester United after his brief taste of Barclays Premier League action in Saturday's win over West Ham.

The 21-year-old came off the bench in the closing stages of the 2-1 victory and is determined to prove he is worthy of more minutes in Louis van Gaal's star-studded side. Although his central defensive partner for the Under-21s, Paddy McNair, got the nod to start alongside Marcos Rojo, he had no qualms after the Northern Irishman's assured performance, and was merely thrilled to make his debut for the club he supports.

"Paddy did really well," the Reserves captain told MUTV. "His header basically saved a goal so he did great. Obviously I was delighted to get on and hopefully there is more to come. I was very pleased, being a United fan and having been here from such a young age. To come through and get my first-team debut, I was very happy.

"You can see a few lads making their debuts this season and the ones who have been in the team have done really well. As soon as you get a little bit, you want more and hopefully there will be."

Thorpe had little time to reflect on his memorable weekend as he skippered the U21s to a dramatic win against Tottenham on Monday, scoring an injury-time winner.

"We're delighted with the win," he added. "It was a good game between two sides who wanted to play football and a good test. I clashed heads in the first half and got a lump so Marnick [Vermijl] said to me he didn't think I would have scored [the header] if that hadn't happened!"