Ji-sung Park is determined to put his early-season injuries
behind him and help United push for an unprecedented fourth
consecutive English league title...
You must be delighted to be back from injury and playing
again…
It’s a pleasure and it was a special moment
when the fans sang my song when I came back. I was really proud to
hear that. It has been difficult being injured because you feel
you’re not doing anything to help the team. When you play you feel
more a part of the side. This season I’ve missed five or six weeks
because of my knee injury, but the team is still competing for four
trophies, which is the main thing. Now, it feels like the start of
the season all over again, and what matters is what happens from
now.
New signings have
increased the competition for places - are you enjoying the
challenge?
It’s good for the players and the team. Competition makes the
players improve because everyone wants to play and keep their own
place, so they work hard. This keeps the team strong and constantly
improving.
What are your aims for the rest of
2009/10?
I want to play as many games as possible and
help the team win as much as possible, starting with the title. It
would be amazing to win four in a row – a record. To make three
Champions
League finals in a row would also be amazing for the club. The
FA Cup is the one I haven’t won yet, so I want that, but all four
would be great!
What is the side focusing on at the moment - pushing
Chelsea all the way in the New Year?
Yes of course.
We have a lot of games until the end of the season and December and
January are particularly busy. It’s going to be hard, but we have
done well at this stage in the last few seasons, so we have to do
that again. We can’t worry about other teams' form, we just have to
concentrate and do our best in every game.
And of course there’s the small matter of the derby -
and Carlos Tevez again - in the Carling Cup
semi-final…
The derby is always special for the
players and the fans, and the fact that it’s a semi-final adds to
that. The media will be hyping it up and we’ll be looking forward
to it. I still speak to Carlos and I still see him, together with
Pat [Patrice Evra], but I couldn’t text him about the draw because
he still doesn’t speak English and I can’t speak Spanish.