| Footballer

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Javier Hernandez may have notched a double to help vanquish Wigan at the DW Stadium, but the young Mexican striker knows that’s no guarantee he’ll start on Tuesday night when the Reds meet Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Hernandez netted either side of half-time in United’s 4-0 win over Wigan before leaving the pitch on 77 minutes. But does Sir Alex’s decision to withdraw the no.14 hint at a possible starting berth on Tuesday night?

“I’m enjoying myself at the moment and I work hard,” Hernandez told MUTV. “But [whether I play against Chelsea] is a decision the manager has to make. If he gives me one minute or 90 minutes I want to do my best.

“Chelsea’s a really big game and we want to win. We’ll go there with a lot of confidence.”
Against Wigan, Hernadez opened the scoring on 17 minutes with a deft finish at the near post. He then doubled the scores with 16 minutes of the game remaining when he raced clear of the Wigan back four and kept his cool when faced with the onrushing Latics goalkeeper.

His strikes helped calm the nerves of United’s sizable travelling support after the home team had carved out the better chances and, for long periods, looked the better side.

“In both halves, Wigan put us under pressure,” Hernandez said. “We know they play very well. They like to play with the ball on the ground and we knew they’d be very motivated because they were playing Manchester United.

“[For my first goal], it was a good ball by Nani – I ran towards the first post and touched it over the goalkeeper.

“The second one, it was a wonderful pass from Wayne Rooney. When I received the ball I only wanted to score. That was the first thing that went through my mind.

“I’m very happy today but I’m happiest for the team. We’re on top of the league and we’re still in the Champions League and FA Cup. We want to win all three competitions.”