How helpful is it to have Fabien Barthez and Laurent Blanc, fellow Frenchman, as colleagues in defence?
It’s very good for communication – not necessarily during the game, but as defenders we can discuss things clearly after the game. That’s very important.
You don’t speak in French during the game then?
Not really, no. We do sometimes…
So you talk about Rio behind his back then?
Ha ha yes, that’s right! We do speak in French sometimes, but not often at all.
You started more Premiership matches than any other player last season. Is it satisfying to know that the manager has such faith in you?
I’ve played a lot of games, and I’m very pleased with that. Not just because of the number of games I’ve played, but just because you want to be involved as often as possible. I’m enjoying it a lot at the moment.
Your accurate crossing from the left has been a feature of your play in the last season or so. Is that something you have had to develop or does it come naturally?
It just comes naturally. I’m not a winger, but we do work on certain things in training, and in matches I’ll go on a run maybe three or four times in each half.
Do you enjoy going forward then
?I do, but sometimes going forward too much means you don’t play very well in defence. As we are an attacking team you have to control yourself, your balance, your choices in going forward.
You played a fantastic 40-yard ball to released David Beckham to score in the 2-2 draw against Chelsea. Is that the best pass of your Utd career so far?
That was a good one, but I did a similar one to Teddy against Bradford a couple of years ago. If I can keep doing that then I’ll be happy.
Did you know the pass was on before you received the ball or was it a split-second decision?
When I got the ball De Lucas was coming towards me and I knew that Babayaro was going inside most of the time because that’s his natural position but he was too close to Desailly. I had a look up, and just tried to play the ball in the direction of David.
Did you speak to Desailly about it after the game, then?
No, no! I did speak to Gallas, though. We had a laugh about it – well, I had a laugh anyway!
You set up both the goals at Chelsea. Is that your best game yet for United?
It’s good if you can help the team to score goals, but that’s not my main focus. It’s just a small plus when you can go forward as a full-back. I look at good defensive performances as good games. My main job is to defend, and it’s really important I concentrate on that because we’ve conceded too many goals recently.
Has it ever been discussed you playing on the left wing as cover for Ryan?
No! I played there once in the Tommy Boyd testimonial game against Celtic, but that was enough!
You scored in that game though didn’t you?
I did, but my mentality is that of a defender. I want to concentrate on that.
How do you think United have started the season so far?
It’s not too bad for the moment. As long as we’re not losing it’s OK, but we can’t afford to draw too many more games. We need to get a bit of consistency now, and make sure we stay unbeaten for a while. Too many teams beat us last season.
Do you feel that the team is performing better than at this stage last season?
Of course. Even if we’ve dropped some points already this season, the way we are playing shows we are focused, and that’s an improvement on last season.
What have been your early impressions of Rio Ferdinand. What qualities do you think he has brought to the United defence?
I knew he would be good, so I’ve not been surprised at how well he’s done so far. He’s played at the top level with England, so we expect great things from him. I’m loving playing alongside him.