whether I could do it again and I guess it will be the same
this year. All I can do is look at what is immediately in
front of me and try to get better.
"The only way you can do that is to train hard, practice
hard and listen to what the coaches are telling you. I
analyse every part of each game and each training session to
see what I did well and what I could have done better. It's
about trying to push back the limits all the time and making
sure you achieve the maximum from your career. That is my
only target for this season.
"We looked good in the opening two games. You need to be
pretty fit to get through an English season and we are
working very hard at the moment. As for being in America, it
is an excellent experience. Not everyone knows who we are,
but the welcome has been more enthusiastic than we expected
because soccer is never going to be one of their main
sports.
"But there are a lot of people who love the game and that is
what we are here for. They support us and they support
football in general and it's nice to be able to give them
something to come and watch."
Ruud has admitted that he too gets in trouble with Fergie
from time to time:
“Just because I score goals doesn’t mean I’m treated any
differently. I’m not special in that sense. Believe me, I’ve
had my fair share of telling-offs by the manager too. I know
if I make a mistake or have a bad game I can be told off
just like everyone else — it has happened plenty of times.
“He has done a lot for me. I first met him three years ago
when he came to see me in Holland and he has not changed
since. I can see him carrying on as manager for a long time
yet, beyond the two years he has left. It is certainly
something I would like to see.”
Asked about how Beckham leaving may affect his game he said:
“I think the service I get this season will be different. I
know Becks’ right foot very well. But last year, when he had
a rib injury and then was left out a few times, Ole Gunnar
Solskjaer came in and did fantastically well. We readjusted
and still got the results we needed.”
And when asked if he could take over from Beckham in the
heart-throb department he said:
“You call me a glamour boy! No, no, no.”
And the bad news for the rest of the Premiership is, he
still wants to get better:
“The Premiership has already made me a better player. But I
won’t stop. I am going to continue working hard and trying
to improve to become the complete striker. It will be hard
to top what I did last season but I will be working towards
that. Two years ago I would have thought it crazy to expect
to score that many goals, or even that it be demanded of me,
but I have done it.
“Now the pressure is there. First it was the pressure of my
£19m price tag and now the pressure is on to score in every
game. This will be my third season and I have gained a lot
of experience and I need to make sure I use that in this
campaign. To be the top goalscorer and win the league last
season was fantastic.
“I spend a lot of time on the training pitch going through
repetitive scoring work so that when it comes to the games I
do it by instinct.”