Chris Smalling might not be the most loved person at Manchester United but the defender has been a revelation since last season. The English international scored a brilliant volley as United overcame a jubilant Watford in the Premier League.
Despite having a pretty solid season last term the defender was overlooked by Gareth Southgate for the England World Cup squad as he preferred to have a younger backline in Russia.
Smalling didn’t have the start he would have hoped as Jose Mourinho preferred to use other defenders available at his disposal but an injury to Phil Jones and Eric Bailly’s rough patch helped him to get back to the starting lineup and he has been pretty impressive in the last two matches.
The 28 year old was in the thick of things as the Red Devils gave a solid defensive performance to keep the Burnley attacking lineup at bay. He then rounded off an all round performance as United had a hard fought win over Watford.
The defender revealed he wants to keep away the England disappointment and wants to help his team. “It’s obviously difficult [watching the World Cup], I am not going to lie.
“You want to be involved for a top club, you want to be involved for your country as well and it was a disappointment, but I had to turn it into a positive to a point where I have my rest and I have a full preseason which I have not had for a while. You take it from there and hit the ground running this season.
“It was a difficult time but you have to try and take the positives.”
“I haven’t had any discussions [with Southgate] but I am lucky I play for a top club and we have got lots of games and that’s where all my focus is going to be now because Man United is my sole focus right now
“I felt last year I played a lot of games and I hope this year to play a lot of games and as much as I can.”