In many ways Ruud van Nistelrooy's 2004/05 campaign mirrored United's season; frustrated by injuries and unable to give a fair account of his undoubted ability.

The prolific Dutchman is hoping for a more telling contribution to the title race this time around…

You're in double figures already this season. Are you happy with your start?
Yeah, I have to be. Eight in the Premiership is a good start. The only thing that has been disappointing was, like against Blackburn, where I scored and we lost. Then it's frustrating. But personally, I'm happy with the way I've begun the season. But I still think I can do better.

What do you think is the difference between your own form now and at the end of last season?
I left last season by scoring two goals in the last two games – against Chelsea and Southampton. That was good for me because it gave me a starting point for this season. I think the main difference so far is that I had a good break in the summer. I came back fresh and had a good pre-season.  It felt as if I was making a new start. I wanted to do a lot better than last season, where I think I've showed my qualities in certain games over the course of the season, but it wasn't with any consistency. That was the disappointing part.

Inury plagued season

You said last season was the most disappointing at the club because of injuries, did that inspire you when you returned in the summer?
Yeah. It was. Obviously I came back from two injuries, but I think I had a bad time in terms of form. I came back around the time of the Milan games. That was a difficult period. It wasn't only that I was injured. Maybe you I can say that I was out for a while and I had to get myself back into it, but… I left that behind. What inspired me most wasn't just that I wanted to do better, it was that I had showed in certain games what I could do. I knew it was still there, because I showed it. I said to myself that I wanted to be completely fit, to make a new start and get that level back into my play more regularly.

You again had to come out and deny that you are leaving in the summer… is it a catch-22 situation; if you don't saying people start to wonder; if you do, you're adding to the story?
Unfortunately, yes. The only reason that I have repeated myself on that whole story is because I want the fans to believe the truth. I get really fed up repeating myself so many times and denying stories that are not true. But I worry that the fans will think that where there is smoke there is fire.

Up there with the best (Left: Charlton, Right: Law)

You recently entered United's all-time top ten scorers, do you pay attention to those statistics?
Yeah, I do. I saw that. I'm on 136 now [remembers clearly without prompting]. There are some unbelievable names from the history of this club, like Charlton and Law. It's a great feeling for me to be amongst those names, and motivating as well; I want to continue to get higher in that list.

You've won a Premiership title and an FA Cup here; do you feel you should be winning more trophies to back up your personal records?
I want to win more trophies with United, but I think that says something about how the general level of the Premiership has changed in the last few years. What the club has achieved since 1999 is still good but we shouldn't look back too much on what we have achieved, it's about what we can do now.