Really? Do the players believe that? Because many United fans don’t...

Really. I wouldn’t say something if I didn’t believe it. Chelsea are going to have some top stars sitting on the bench and you can see how that unnerves some players. I wouldn’t like sitting on the bench week in week out. They might lose it at times.

Will you miss Ruud van Nistelrooy, both as a player and a person?

Ruud’s a good lad. I never found him moody and learnt a lot from him. It will be hard to replace him because his scoring record at United was unbelievable, 25-30 goals a year. That will be hard to follow, but the rest of the team will have to chip in. The likes of Louis [Saha] and myself will have to take more responsibility.

What kind of striker do you prefer to play alongside?

I’m not too bothered. I liked playing with Van Nistelrooy. He holds the ball up well, is good at link-up play and he scores goals. If I play up front with Louis then I’ll know that his main strength is getting behind players with his pace and I’ll adapt to that, as I would if I played alongside Scholesy or Ole [Solskjaer], because I know they like to get behind players too.

Which areas of your game do you still need to work on?

My left foot. It’s something I’ve been doing in training, working on my passing and shooting, and I feel more comfortable striking the ball with my left foot now. I need to improve my heading too. I haven’t scored a headed goal for United and the lads have been winding me up in training about that. They’re getting on my back because it’s dragging on a bit.

What do you think United can achieve this season in Europe?

We were bitterly disappointed to go out in the group stage last season, and to finish bottom of the group too. It was a big embarrassment: with the squad we’ve got, we should have done better. Now we have to look to experienced players like Scholes and Giggsy to go further this time. I’ve played a few games in Europe myself now so I think I can contribute more.

Is the standard higher in the Champions League than at the World Cup?

It probably is, yeah. The games are more intense and there are more quality players. It’s brilliant to play in the Champions League. Football-wise, I’d say it’s more attractive than the World Cup.

Back to England. You must be raring to get back and put things right. What are your aims this season and beyond?

To win our qualifying games in the Euros. For me personally, I’d like to get a few goals as I don’t think I score enough for England. My record’s poor so I want to improve.

How frustrating was it to sit out the first two Euro 2008 qualifiers?

Of course it was disappointing, and what made it worse was that my United ban meant I missed a month of football. I just had to work on keeping my fitness right.

Several players have talked about letting the country down at the World Cup. How do you go about winning back fans who might feel disillusioned by the performances?

I think a lot of the players believed we had the squad to win the World Cup. Yet we were nowhere near good enough. The fans were brilliant, but I think the press raised expectations too high. There were parties in some countries when their team got to the quarter-finals, yet our press had a go at us for the way we played from the very first game. We know our performance against Ecuador [in the Round of 16] wasn’t great, but I don’t think the level of expectation from the media helped the morale of the country or the players. It was as if they wouldn’t settle for anything less than England winning the whole thing.

What’s your relationship with Steve McClaren like? Have you spoken to him since the World Cup?

We’ve spoken a few times since the World Cup and so far it’s been good. He deserved the chance to be England manager. He’s really positive and I’m looking forward to working with him.

Are you looking forward to working with Terry Venables?

Yeah, the players who’ve worked with him before say he’s a great coach with a lot of ideas and he knows the game of football inside out. It will be nice to work with someone like that and hopefully he’ll make me a better player.

How do you view your role in the team? You’re only 20 but with Michael Owen injured you’ll be the senior striker...

I don’t see myself any differently – I’m still an England player who is part of the squad. There’s competition for places, especially with the way Crouchy is playing. His record is brilliant since he came into the team. And Jermain Defoe is back in the squad too, so there’s competition there.

You put yourself forward to be England captain. Was that a serious offer?

A lot was made of that in the papers, but I was joking. In the future, when I’ve got more experience then I’d like to captain my country. I like to feel I can be a leader on the pitch, urge the lads on, even if my example is sometimes not seen as the best. But I’m getting better at that.