Stam Excited For Return

Reading manager Jaap Stam is looking forward to his Old Trafford return on Saturday, particularly after learning that his name is still regularly sung by Manchester United supporters.

The big Dutchman will bring his Championship high-flyers to the Theatre of Dreams for an eagerly-anticipated FA Cup third-round tie. It is notably the Treble-winner’s first competitive game back at his old stadium since leaving the club in 2001 following three trophy-laden seasons in red.

During an exclusive interview with former United team-mate David May, which aired on MUTV's Thursday Focus programme, Stam admitted he is pleased about his enduring popularity among the United fans, who he is excited to see on Saturday.

“Yeah, I have heard that they still sing my name from people who go over there,” he said. “It is good and I like it. I have been back to United of course for charity games, but it is a bit different and it is a different crowd in those games as well. So it will be nice to be back. When I left United, I never went back in a league game so it will good to be back to see the fans, and to see the people over there.”

Stam is widely regarded as one of the finest defenders in United history and the 44-year-old will naturally advise his Royals defenders on how to handle the Reds’ top scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has 18 goals this season and was this week voted the club’s Player of the Month for December.

“He is big and you see a lot of defenders playing against a big striker like that; they try to anticipate and get in front of him every time to win that ball off him,” Stam continued. “But sometimes you just need to be patient and let him have it. In the moment that he is trying to turn, then step in and try to win the ball.

“In the way he plays, sometimes he plays high up the pitch and sometimes he drops in deep to get the ball. Then he passes it to a midfield player and makes his run, so for a big player he is quite mobile in the way he moves. 

“He is very fit and I think he is a great professional, so I was quite surprised by how people treated him at the beginning of the season because he has shown everybody, even when he wasn’t at United, that he is one of the best strikers in the world.”

Saturday’s match will also pit Stam against Jose Mourinho and he is relishing the challenge of facing a manager he has great respect for.

“I have met him a couple of times and it is good to talk to him,” the Dutchman added. “I like him as a person and a character. I think he has done a great job stepping into United, with how it was and how people reacted to the team. It was not the easiest club after Fergie left.

“But he has done a great job so far. He is a type of manager who has a certain philosophy. Players know what to expect and what they need to do for him. He is always trying to help the players, support them in every way and by doing that he makes the team stronger by getting results.” 

Credit: Manutd.com