Rojo's Passion For The Derby

Manchester United defender Marcos Rojo turns 26 today and is hoping to celebrate his birthday by helping his side to beat neighbours City at the Etihad Stadium.

In this extract from his exclusive interview with MUTV, the Argentinian discusses his recent return to fitness and explains why players need to have "fire in the belly" for this afternoon's game...

Firstly, how would you sum up the game against Liverpool on Thursday?
We tried our best and we gave it everything as a team. We took a few risks trying to make it happen during the second half, but it’s really sad that we’re out. Now we have to continue to work hard and to fight.

If anything, can that defeat increase the sense of unity in the camp ahead of the derby?
Without a doubt, we came in on Friday and started to work on the City game straight away. It’s a derby match and a big game for Manchester, but it’s also a big game in terms of the league position. We need to move forward and try to get out of the bad run that we’re in. We’re all very much together as a team and are desperate to move the club forward for ourselves and for the fans who are always right behind us.

How is your fitness now following your time out with injury?
Every day I’m getting better. I’m a bit tired right now as I’ve been ill recently and when you play games like these, you leave everything out there on the pitch. The manager knows this and asked me to give as much as I could in recent matches. It’s difficult when you’ve been out for the best part of three months to come back and hit the ground running, but I’m getting stronger with every game now.

In general, during your time here, what's the overriding emotion been on the training pitch before a derby?
We always really look forward to it and are always motivated to do well in the game. We've got a good few players who are experienced in this kind of match and that sense of calm is felt throughout the group. We know that we have to win, both for ourselves and for the supporters who have been right behind us all the way recently. We have to go and do what we can to get all three points.

How do you mentally prepare for derby matches?
I always try to be quite relaxed before these games. The way I see it is if you go into this kind of game overly pumped up, you can get yourself into trouble - you have to try and keep calm. There's no point being fired up and getting a silly red card as that doesn't help the team. You have to keep your head all the way through and do everything you can to win.

Is it easy staying calm on the pitch?
No, especially in games like these that usually have a great atmosphere. You have to give one hundred per cent though and stay as calm as possible. When you walk out on that pitch, you have to have the fire in your belly but keep a cool head at the same time.

What have you discovered about English derby matches since you arrived here?
I've seen that people are passionate about them and that they mean an awful lot to the people of Manchester. City have grown a lot recently and United have the history and now it's a really well contested derby. I've been lucky enough to play in two or three and I've really enjoyed the experience.

Finally, what do you think of the Premier League this season, because there have been quite a few odd results?
There have been a lot of strange results, but that’s given way to an incredible and unpredictable season, which is what makes this the best league in the world. Leicester being top proves that anyone can beat anyone, it's also easy to drop points against the smaller teams who are fighting hard.