Kieran Richardson has vowed to fight for his future at Manchester United after revealing he has the backing manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
The versatile midfielder has made just five starts this term, which can be attributed to the form of the evergreen Ryan Giggs, the resurgence of Paul Scholes and star quality of Cristiano Ronaldo.
England international Richardson admits he has found it tough watching on from the sidelines this term, but is determined to forge a successful career at Old Trafford.
“I will be staying at Manchester United and fighting for my position,” he exclusively told skysports.com from a photoshoot for Adidas' F50+ clothing and footwear range.
“The gaffer does not want me to go and if the gaffer does not want me to go then I want to stay.
“The gaffer always tells those who are not playing that it is hard because the team is playing so well and it is hard to bring you in.
“We have a 23-man squad and we are all internationals so you are going to get people who are not playing and at the moment I am one of those people.
“But hopefully I can get through it and earn my place.
“You sometimes ask the gaffer ‘why am I not playing?’ But he tells you he wants to keep you involved and to keep going.
“And that is what you do, you need a good 23-man squad to win the Premiership and hopefully we have got that and hopefully we can win it.”
Richardson burst onto the international scene in 2005, but he is aware that he needs to be playing regularly in order to catch the eye of England manager Steve McClaren.
“Always playing for your country is a main aim," he added. "But obviously you want to get your club sorted out first.
”If you get your club sorted, playing for Manchester United, then the international thing will take care of itself.
“There is no better honour than playing for your country.”