Transfer speculation during the off-season does spur you on.
— Chris Smalling
You just have to learn that you can't always go and win that ball and there are certain moments to do it.
All you can do is let your football do the talking.
Fabio Capello has probably seen me play more games at centre-half but for him to have the faith in me to play in a different position is great for my confidence and I hope I did him justice.
If you would have told me that I'd be in a European final back when I was at Maidstone then I wouldn't have believed you.
It makes me very proud that a club like Manchester United have wanted me to be here as long as I have been.
As players you need to have thick skin and we need to have belief that you will have bad days but it's about making sure you have more good days than bad.
Playing in the Manchester derby definitely helped me.
It's nice when you can have that battle on the pitch and then there's respect after the game because, ultimately, you are just trying to do your best.
I think every manager has that, the so-called hairdryer treatment when things need a little turnaround.
I know from playing against Mata that he's a great player.
I like Thai food, Jamaican stews with yam, pumpkin and sweet potato.
I guess football is a game of opinions.
I love a challenge and when a new centre-back comes in it makes you raise your game. You have to show more, you have to be more consistent.
I think Serie A has always been a goal of mine to play in one day, because as a defender if you get the chance to experience Serie A you want to do it.
When we're winning or losing, when we're doing warm-ups or even when I'm walking down the street, there are United fans talking to me. I think that's something we all love.
I knew when I did get a consistent run that I could go from height to height.
The FA Cup is notoriously unpredictable.
I just want to do my best.
Anyone who wants to be a centre-half would have to say that John Terry is a role model. Every centre-half in the game would agree with that. It is the way he leads the team and the way he reads the game.
I didn't see myself playing regularly at right-back for Manchester United or making my England debut in that position.
Hopefully I can take my chances when I get them.
Just to be able to be at a club like Manchester United for so long when I first joined, you never know how it's going to turn out.
I just have to make sure that, whenever an opportunity arises, I keep taking them.
Obviously with a knee injury there are certain protocols that need to happen.
I just try to do my best and try to be a part of the team.
You know that without the whole team working together, it's a very hard job for the defenders, so everyone plays a part.
I want the supporters to know that we're always striving to improve.
At home we try to plan what we cook in the week.
I was playing regularly for United up to when I left.
To have a chance at a big club, if it goes well and the club is happy and I am happy, then I can definitely see a longer-term future in Italy.
I think racism is unacceptable and should not be stood for. It is not an issue just in Italy, it is around the world.
Everyone becomes a lot more focused when you come towards the critical stages of the season.
There are lots of aspects to work on my game, which the coaches do with me every day.
Of course you want to be playing in the summer.
It is nice to hear some positive words from the manager.
A good pre-season is essential if you want to do well.
I always hoped I'd get a chance to prove myself at the top level because I believed I could do it, but making your way up the football ladder is very tough.
It's hard to sit back and just go through your whole career, because everything's always moving so fast. But the odd milestone is always a nice moment, and when you look at the previous players to have hit those kind of milestones, it's nice to be in that company.
When you get the shirt and a position in the team, you don't want to give it up.
As players we don't want to be sitting on the touchline or watching the games in the directors' box. That is no fun.
A manager has to have all different sides covered.
I think a lot of managers say that it starts from the front and us as defenders know it helps our job when the front two strikers put that pressure on. If they can do that it makes our job a lot easier.
You learn that you can't take what's happened in the previous years for granted.
Even before I went vegan, in terms of cutting out red meat, my tendinitis and recovery after games was vastly improved.
I am used to playing when I am fit.
I think I've played a lot in the Premier League and now I can bring my qualities that I've learned to Italy, and that is something I am looking forward to.
You can't have two or three games where you let your level drop.
I think the more games the better and I am always one that would rather play than train.
