Football
Kevin Palmer 9y

Morgan Schneiderlin says he's 'not the finished product' with Man United

Morgan Schneiderlin has suggested he will need to be given time to find his feet at Manchester United after his move from Southampton.

Schneiderlin has played 94 Premier League games over the last three seasons in Saints colours and has also made his breakthrough with the French national side in the last year, but he admitted he will have to prove himself all over again at United after sealing a £24 million move earlier this month.

"I'm not the finished product. I'm just 25, which is the middle age for a professional footballer," he told reporters in the United States.

"Of course playing alongside [Michael] Carrick and [Bastian] Schweinsteiger will help my game. Training week-in and week-out with these players helps you learn and improve your game. I'm ready for it.

"The competition here is very intense but there are a lot of games in the Premier League, Champions League and domestic cups and it's good competition for us.

"We all work hard together but, of course, it's the manager's choice who will play -- that's normal. I want to play and the other players want to play, but the manager chooses the team and you always have to push to get into it. At a club like United you would expect nothing else."

Schneiderlin believes United's ongoing preseason tour of America has presented him with an ideal opportunity to settle into Louis van Gaal's side, as he insisted he is setting modest goals for himself in his first season at Old Trafford.

"I've not set myself any targets, certainly not with goals," added the player who scored just 15 league goals in 260 appearances for Southampton. "I'm not a striker, so I'm not obsessed with scoring goals.

"My aim is to improve my game, help the team, do my job on the pitch and if I can score goals then great. The main thing for me is to stay fit and give my best.

"It's a good thing for me to come here [United States] and spend every hour of the day with the players. It's nice to get to know them better.

"I feel part of the squad already and there's no better way to adapt to a new club than spending every day with my teammates. The tour has been good for me and everyone has made me feel welcome from the first minute. I speak good English, too, so that has made things easier.

"We're training very well and trying to adapt and understand as quickly as possible what the manager wants. We have had some good games and good results, but the most important thing is the fitness.

"The people around the world love Manchester United and the atmosphere around the club is crazy. I knew it would be like that before I came. At Southampton we went to quiet places like Austria [for preseason trips]. Some people recognised us but it's the complete opposite to here."

Schneiderlin scored his first goal for United in their victory against Club America at the start of their U.S. tour.

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