Matic realises importance of experience

Nemanja Matic wants to use his influential presence in the dressing room to help lead Manchester United to success in 2019/20.

The midfielder is one of the most experienced members of the United squad, having racked up nearly 200 Premier League appearances in recent years for the Reds and previous employers Chelsea.

The 30-year-old’s background also includes spells in the Netherlands and Portugal, as well as earning 46 international caps, to date, for Serbia.

Unsurprisingly, Nemanja’s experience means he is a respected and valued member of the group and he hopes to use his status to inspire his team-mates to glory in the upcoming campaign.

“In my position, it is very important to talk to team-mates, especially as one of the more experienced players,” Matic told reporters during Friday’s press conference ahead of the third game of Tour 2019, against Inter Milan in Singapore on Saturday (12:30 BST kick-off).

“And yeah, I'm trying, I'm trying to do that exactly. I think that this pre-season we are training very well, every one of us is trying to give something extra, myself included, so I'm sure, this season, we will play much better.

“If it will be enough to win some trophies, I don't know. It's difficult to say now but I'm quite sure that we'll play much, much better.”

Preparing for his third season as a Red, Nemanja admits he was not always at his best last term but, after a first full pre-season in recent years, our no.31 feels he can get back to peak form.

“Last season, I had some problems with injuries and I was not happy with my form. As you know, we finished sixth in the table and we were not happy,” he said.

“This year, I started pre-season with the team and we will see. I feel great and I hope I will continue to train hard and try to help the team.”

As well as hoping for a better individual performance next season, Nemanja is determined to help the team better our sixth-placed finish from 2018/19.

“It was not a good season for all of us, as we know,“ he added. ”Our target in the end was to play in the Champions League but we didn’t make it.

“This season, we know we have to do better and do more, because when you play for Man United you have to fight for trophies and we know that. We expect this season to do better, every one of us, and I’m sure we will be ready for every challenge.”