Ander's Programme Interview

Ander Herrera has responded to tabloid speculation over his future at Manchester United by reiterating his happiness at Old Trafford and referring to an exclusive interview on the subject.

The article appeared in United Review, the official matchday programme, for the PSV Eindhoven game and is reproduced in full below:

Since his arrival from Athletic Club in the summer of 2014, Ander Herrera has played his way into the affections of supporters with an all-action approach which embodies the United way. As the Reds bid to send out a message across Europe with victory over PSV Eindhoven this evening, the livewire Spaniard is itching for the chance to help prove his side’s credentials.

How do you assess Group B as it stands?
We want to be first in the table and, if we want to achieve that, we have to win our next two games - tonight and in Wolfsburg. First of all, the most important thing is to qualify for the next round and, to do this, we must beat PSV.

Having played all three Group B opponents, which has impressed you most?
To be honest, I think we have no excuses. I think we are the best team in the group but we have to show it now. We are in the best position in the group because we are first but we want to finish there because it is better to play in the next round against the runners-up in the other groups.

How frustrating was our Matchday One defeat in Eindhoven?
That’s football. When you play well, you have more possibilities to win but football is not always like this. It’s why everyone loves this game – anything can happen. If you play well and control the game, for me, you have more chances to win. I think we didn’t allow more than three chances to PSV. We created more chances than them but they beat us. Now we have the chance to correct this at home. When we lost, we didn’t expect to be top for this game and we have to take advantage of that. We have a big chance to qualify and then fight for first place.

How difficult will tonight’s game be?
We’re at home in front of our fans and it could be the best way to qualify. But we have to show that as we lost away to them and we have to respect them because we know they are a good team.

Of course, the first game was overshadowed by Luke Shaw’s injury…
You know, I was really surprised when I saw him two weeks afterwards. He was already thinking about the moment he’s going to come back and that’s good. The mind is helping do a lot of the big work in the recovery. So what we can do is support him but I think he doesn’t need it too much now. He is very positive, very strong and very young with a long career ahead of him. He is going to come back very strongly but it was a shame as he was playing really, really well.

Memphis scored against his former team in Eindhoven but generally is still adapting to life at Manchester United. How highly do you rate him?
I think, of course, when you are very young, as he is, it is not so easy to always maintain your best form. So I feel he is 21 and he has all the qualities to be a top player but he knew in advance it was not going to be easy at Manchester United. There are a lot of players who all want to play and all want to fight for their place. So Memphis has started very well but is now fighting again for a chance in the line-up. He is going to get chances because he has world-class quality.

Is that why it’s important to have a big squad full of people helping each other?
When you want to have a great season, everyone has to be involved. We have very experienced guys in the squad like Michael Carrick, Wayne Rooney, Ashley Young and Bastian Schweinsteiger. They want to help all the players and, overall, the young players need it sometimes. I don’t consider myself young. I am in the middle. Although my face is young, I am in the middle now! We all try to listen to our experienced team-mates every day because they have passed through every moment in their careers. It is good to listen and try to copy them because they have been successful.

How would you assess your own season so far?
When I am on the pitch, I try to do my best. I think one of my qualities is my passing and I try to always be close to the box. I try to score and try to press when we lose the ball. I think I am an energetic player. I like to not only play well but also to cover and assist my team-mates when we have not got the ball.

How does it feel to have the fans chanting your name during games?
I just say to them ‘thank you’. I thank all the fans because they show me every day and at every game that they are supporting me. The only thing I can do is try to keep fighting and try to keep giving everything within me when I pull on the red shirt. I try to enjoy it. What I am doing at United, I enjoy a lot so I don’t want this dream to finish. I have to play as well as possible if I want to play as long as I can at this club.

The supporters seem to feel you understand what is required from a Manchester United player…
When I was in Spain, I always thought about the best teams in the world and maybe the biggest and most-supported club is Manchester United. So I worked very hard to be here. When I was in Spain, I was very professional and had to be very consistent to get here. Now I am here, I always say the same thing: the most difficult thing is to stay at a big club. Of course, it is difficult to arrive at a big team in the first place but it is even harder to stay there. The club has the possibility to sign new players and it’s a very powerful club so all players want to play here. I have to fight for my position and gain my position and I will do it.

Was it frustrating to have an international break after the West Brom game as we seemed to be finding our form?
It felt like a long time but a lot of the players were involved in the international break. We also trained very hard and played a friendly game here at the Aon Training Complex. I think we are in good form. I think, this year, what I can say about the team is that we are very compact. I think we have found the balance in the team. It’s not so easy to create chances against us and we have the quality to create more chances but we have to score. This year, I can definitely say we are much more balanced than last season.

Does our defensive record and home form give us a chance of doing well domestically and in Europe?
In the league, we’ve only conceded to Liverpool at home and it was a fantastic goal by Christian Benteke. If we want to win trophies and fight for the Premier League until the end, we cannot concede too many goals. You have seen Chelsea last year – they were very compact and won a lot of games 1-0. I do think we are different to them. We play differently because we do not want the opposition to have the ball, we prefer to always keep it. I think the best way to defend is when you have the ball because they haven’t got it and cannot score. We want to control all the games. If you want to win games, first of all you don’t concede goals and then you get the chances to do this.

Are the European nights here everything you imagined they would be when you arrived?
These are special nights. I think our fans missed the Champions League games last year. Now we have a chance to go as far as possible in the Champions League and it is a competition for Manchester United to show who we are.