Manchester United midfielder Marouane Fellaini says he's prepared to fight summer signings Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin to keep a spot in Louis van Gaal's lineup.
Fellaini told the Guardian he knew he faced a tough task to stay in the mix, especially in light of the three-match ban he will serve to start the season for a hard stamp on Paul McShane in United's final match of their 2014-15 Premier League campaign.
The Belgian agreed with Van Gaal that the foul, which drew a straight red card, was "stupid" and said he knew right away he would serve some form of punishment from the league.
"[Van Gaal] was angry with me, but the next day I went to talk him and said sorry," Fellaini said. "It was my idea to say sorry for the tackle and the trouble. Of course, it is something he appreciated. I let him and my teammates down and that was not good for the team."
Fellaini won't be eligible to play for United until Aug. 30 against Swansea City, giving Schweinsteiger and Schneiderlin a chance to establish themselves ahead of him. The 27-year-old did not play in the team's first friendly, a 1-0 win over Liga MX's Club America.
"That's football, you know?" Fellaini said. "We have some great players, so I have to fight for my place, that's it.
"No, I am fine, because I train every day. I have trained now for two weeks and slowly I will get there. It is just important that I don't have any injuries and that I am fit when I start my season.
"The pre-season is important because I need to be fit for all the season and working hard now makes that easier to achieve."
Fellaini enjoyed a decent run during Van Gaal's first season in charge at Man United and featured regularly in the team's starting XI after a less-than-stellar campaign the previous year under David Moyes.
"It started early, in October, when I scored the goal at West Brom," Fellaini said. "From that moment, I felt confidence and good with the team and my teammates.
"I have always felt good with the players at United, but with the supporters it was difficult a little bit when I arrived. It changed and we did some great things as a team and finished fourth with a great manager. I tried hard to be in the team and the manager trusts me."
The formula for United to win a 21st Premier League title is simple, according to Fellaini, who said it comes down to not losing matches they should win.
"We lost some stupid games last season and if we hadn't done that we would have been at the top of the table. But that is English football.
"We have to win every game at Old Trafford if we want to be competing for the title. For the rest, we don't have to win every game away, but we know we need to win a lot of them if we are to be on top of the table.
"Two years ago [under David Moyes] teams came to Old Trafford and they thought it was easy. But last season, especially over the final few months, some big teams came to Old Trafford and did not get a chance to win.
"We saw that and I hope we will show that again this season. It has to be that way. We have to make it complicated for opponents at home."