How Ibra Handled Busy Spell

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has paid tribute to his manager after a fabulous spell as the spearhead of the Manchester United side earned him our Player of the Month award.

The Swede explained why Jose Mourinho and his coaching staff deserve credit for handling his schedule during the busy fixture period as he continues to look stronger than ever at the age of 35. The Reds' leading scorer with 18 goals claims he does not have a normal body and that is why he has surprised many commentators with his endurance and resilience in the Premier League.

Although still bitterly disappointed to have a goal chalked off against Middlesbrough on New Year's Eve, when his stunning finish to an Anthony Martial cross was controversially disallowed for dangerous play, the close-season signing is pleased with his recent endeavours.

United have won seven games in succession in all competitions and Ibrahimovic thanked the supporters for ensuring he came out on top in our poll, while insisting the plaudits should be shared.

"I’m happy because the fans are voting," he told ManUtd.com. "Part of the game is for the fans, the way I play and the reason I play but, like I always say, without my team-mates, it’s not possible. You don’t play well without your team-mates so, for me, it’s a team trophy for everybody. 

"Let’s hope we have another month like the one that was in December and we continue like that because we had a fantastic month. It was a tight schedule but we managed to handle it well with the balance.
The coach and his team prepare well for every game, they kept the balance good between training and recovery and the games. So we are super glad we went through that and want to continue, hopefully repeating what we’ve done over the past five or six games.

"I feel good," he said. "I feel in shape. The boss has made a good programme for me since the start. He has been adapting my physical point of view and the way I can play every game. He has to get the credit for that. The mixture between training, recovery and the game, I do it differently, and he set it up for me. So that’s why I can hold out for so long. And, when you have a body like me, it’s not a normal body. It’s like when you see an animal. It goes in and is fresh always so I see myself as an animal."

Zlatan has claimed 10 goals in his last 10 games but is still sore about the one that got away, against Boro, when he was deemed to have fouled the visiting goalkeeper Victor Valdes. On being asked about his goal tally, the striker replied: "Yeah, but I missed one that was disallowed. It was a little bit of a shame because it was a nice goal. He [the referee] should apologise to me because you don’t take away a nice goal like that. Trust me, this one was a good one. I protected the keeper, even when I did it. The images say everything."

Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Paul Pogba were the other nominees for December's award and could be in the frame again when January's prize is up for grabs. Ibrahimovic was swift to praise his fellow summer arrivals and all of his colleagues.

"I mean, when you play with players like that, that are always around the top," he said. "They always want to win, always train very hard and have a great spirit and great mentality. They’re growing after every game and I would be more than happy if they are nominated every month. 

"It means the whole team should be nominated because we are helping each other, we want to make each other better and get the best out of each other. We’re working very hard for each other. That is what the game is about – it’s a collective game. If they win, the team is happy. If I win, the team is happy. At the end, if the team is happy, we are all happy."