Shinji Kagawa has come out and stated that he is anxious to start playing regularly for Manchester United to ensure that he is fit when it comes to representing Japan.
So far during the 2013/14 season, Shinji Kagawa has only featured in 4 of United’s 11 games, being substituted at half-time against West Brom at Old Trafford.
During the latest international break, Kagawa struggled to make an impact for Japan and the former Borussia Dortmund player admits he needs more game time if he is to improve at international level.
Speaking to reporters in Japan, Shinji Kagawa said:
“Personally I felt strongly after these two matches that I need to play more [at my club] and, as a team, there are many things we need to do as well
“So we all need to go back to our European or J-League clubs and take what we learned in these two matches and work to fix those problems.
“There’s a matter of fitness and there’s also that atmosphere of playing for my country.
“It’s different from the atmosphere at United but you still get a good feel for being on the pitch when you play regularly.
“Maybe it’s because I’m not used to being on the pitch of late but I didn’t feel like I was able to enter these two games properly. During tough times like these I have to improve myself.”
Next up for Manchester United is a home fixture against Southampton in the Premier League, which Shinji Kagawa will be hoping that he gets some game time at Old Trafford. On the match betting front, Manchester United are 8/15 with Paddy Power for the game against Southampton, other odds for the Manchester United vs Southampton game and the rest of the season are available on the Manchester United Premier League betting page.
Wayne Rooney is likely to play his first game without his protective head gear on Saturday after full recovering from the gash that required 10-stitches last month.
