Darren Fletcher is delighted with his return to action for Manchester United, and is now targeting a comeback to the first-team fold in the English Premier League, where he has not made an appearance in a Red Devils shirt since November last year.
Ulcerative Colitis had forced Fletcher to sit out the second half of last season, with the Scottish international making his comeback courtesy a substitute appearance in the Champions League. Fletcher also captained United in the 2-1 League Cup win over Newcastle two weeks back.
"It's what it's all about," he told MUTV. "Getting as many games as possible.
"I know the manager has got such a big squad now, especially in the midfield area, and there is a lot of competition for places. I have to be patient and wait for my chances but, hopefully, one will come around sooner rather than later.
"I think my general fitness is fine, it's just match fitness -- the sharpness, reaction times, things in your head and things like that. The positional sense, when you're a little bit older, comes back to you fairly quickly."
Fletcher now wants to slowly bed himself into Sir Alex Ferguson's first-team plans in the English Premier League, after also seeing plenty of time on the pitch in reserve games and specially arranged friendlies.
"To get as many 90 minutes as possible is great just now," he said. "After not playing for a long time, it's important to get games back into your legs.
"Fortunately, I've had quite a few games for the reserves as well. I was just desperate to get back involved in any way, shape or form.
"For me, firstly, playing for the reserves was massive and a great achievement. Going into every game, I treat them the same. It doesn't matter where it is -- the reserves, Capital One Cup, back in Scotland -- every match is the same when you get across that line and just want to get back to winning ways."
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