Tom Cleverley cannot wait to silence the taunts of Manchester City fans by winning the Premier League title back with Manchester United.
United midfielder devastated by last-day heartbreak
Tom Cleverley cannot wait to silence the taunts of Manchester City fans by winning the Premier League title back with Manchester United.
United lost their crown to their neighbours in devastating fashion with just seconds of the season remaining.
Although the Red Devils won at Sunderland, City turned their home fixture against QPR around in injury-time to lift the title for the first time in 44 years.
Cleverley admits he has been mocked and abused on the streets of Manchester since that heartbreak.
But the 22-year-old midfielder insists it will only strengthen United's resolve to win the title back next season.
Cleverley told the
Daily Star: "The motivation is there, massively. It's our neighbours, our rivals. Nothing needs to be said to motivate ourselves.
"Football seems to be the only talking point in Manchester at the minute.
"When your neighbours are your main rivals for the league, you can't really get away from it.
"We've taken some stick from the fans in the street. A few 'Man City' shouts, that sort of thing. You have just got to grit your teeth and keep your head down.
"It hurts, but it would be even sweeter to take it back next season. There's been a bit of ribbing come our way, but to get our own back would be twice as nice."
New experience
Cleverley, who watched the events unfold from the stands at the Stadium of Light, admits it was a heart-wrenching experience.
"To be in and amongst it first hand was a new experience for me," said Cleverley.
"I'd never been involved in the Premier League title race before.
"It was one of the craziest five minutes I've ever experienced and I was devastated at the end of it.
"I was in the stands, in the directors' box, with a few of the other players. We had the City game on a little screen.
"We knew it was 2-1 in the 90th minute. We went back down to the changing room to see what the manager had to say and while we were on the way they scored.
"We went into the press room and saw Paul Merson (on Sky Sports) going mad on TV because City had scored again. It obviously felt as though someone had ripped my heart out.
"It was a hard day. I knew before most of my team-mates who played in the game. It was horrible. As a team, we were just gutted in the changing room.
"But that pain will make us fight even harder next year. It's a club that's famous for coming back when it's down. That's what we intend to do next year.
"There will be a lot of hard work in pre-season to make sure that we're ready. This is a club of winners.
"I've been here long enough to know there's something wrong when it doesn't win anything. We will be looking to put that right next year."
