MANCHESTER UNITED MIDFIELDER Marouane Fellaini says he was made to feel like a scapegoat for last season’s disappointing campaign under David Moyes.
The Belgium international was brought to Old Trafford by the Scot in a €32 million deal but struggled to make any impact at the club during his first season.
The Red Devils eventually finished the season in seventh place, with Moyes sacked in April and, when asked if he had been made a scapegoat for the campaign, Fellaini agreed.
“Yes, a little bit. That is a difficult question. It is difficult to answer that,” he told reporters.
“I agree last season was tough. There was a new manager and it was difficult for all the players but we have another new manager now with a new philosophy and we have to work hard.”
Fellaini insisted he never wanted to leave the club, despite heavy speculation linked him with an Old Trafford exit during the summer.
“No. It was all speculation. In football it is like this. That’s what happens, there is always speculation,” he added. “But I signed for Manchester United for four years and the manager never said to me that I had to go so I worked for my place and that was it.
“I didn’t lose faith in myself. In football you have to be strong in the head. The mentality is important and I do have this quality so I can keep going.”
The midfielder has been impressive in recent weeks, scoring against West Brom, and he is confident he can improve even futher under Moyes’ successor Louis van Gaal. “Last season was a difficult season for me. I am fit now and that is why I am better,” he said.
“When I am super fit I will be better I am sure. I was injured earlier this season [an ankle]. It was a bad injury but now I am better and I can look forward.”
“At the moment the manager is using me as a box-to-box player and I am trying to score a goal,” he said, though he is content to operate elsewhere as in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace.
“When you are playing you are always happy. So I am happy at the moment.”
Marouane Fellaini was speaking at the screening of ‘Hungry to Win’, a Japanese animation created by Nissin, Manchester United’s Official Global Noodle Partner.
