ACCEPT YOUR LIMITATIONS

Like many Uruguayans, Diego Forlan is a chatterbox, speaks fast and laughs often. As team-mates passed through the lobby at Manchester United's training ground at Carrington, they put fingers to their lips. "Ssshhhh!" they hissed. "I've already got a reputation for talking too much," he jokes.

"We've had some injuries," he explains. "I think if the whole squad is fit, it is hard for the manager. I'm under no illusions, though, and I'm aware of who's in front of me in the pecking order."

Forlan soon found that sporadic appearances as substitute could be very frustrating. "It's true I couldn't find the goal at first," he admits, "but I think it's also the case that, if you don't play a lot and you don't have continuity, then it's harder. All my team-mates encouraged me and would point out things I maybe did wrong, the manager also. Everyone has been really supportive."

Nevertheless, there seems little prospect Forlan securing a regular place in United's starting line-up, a situation he accepts without a trace of bitterness. "Obviously it would be nice to be playing and to have a game when the weekend comes," he says. "But I have to be prepared to go in at any time. The manager may prefer to play others at the moment but that's football. So I have to just keep training and be ready in case I'm needed."