Action matters to Lindegaard

ANDERS Lindegaard had no intention of inheriting Edwin van der Sar’s number one shirt — he just wants his place in the Manchester United team.

Lindegaard enjoyed a winning debut on Saturday, even though he was unable to mark the occasion with a clean sheet as United were forced to come from behind to beat Southampton 2-1 at the St Mary’s Stadium.

The Denmark international earned warm praise from Sir Alex Ferguson, but realises he will be going back into cold storage as Van der Sar returns for tomorrow’s Premier League encounter with Aston Villa.

With Van der Sar set to retire at the end of the season, Lindegaard knows there is a first–team spot up for grabs. And he is determined to get it, even if the shirt itself holds no appeal.

“I am never going to play number one,” he said. “I don’t like it.

“But don’t be mistaken by that. I definitely want to be the number one choice.

Lindegaard impressed with the speed of his distribution on Saturday and was blameless in Southampton’s shock first–half opener.

The result keeps United on course for a repeat of their 1999 treble, although no–one will be talking about that at Old Trafford considering few are even prepared to discuss going through the entire league season unbeaten.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s side will complete their next two tasks — against Aston Villa and at Wolves on Saturday — without Park Ji–sung, who has been given a week off to recover from his Asian Cup exploits with South Korea.