Man Utd's Ritchie De Laet has no intention of leaving the club on loan and has vowed to force his way into Sir Alex Ferguson's first-team.
Belgian keen to earn first-team chance
Manchester United defender Ritchie De Laet has no intention of leaving the club on loan and has vowed to force his way into Sir Alex Ferguson's first-team.
The Belgium international enjoyed a spell at Norwich earlier this season, but returned to Old Trafford in January after injury cut short his time at Carrow Road.
The 23-year-old has made six appearances for the Red Devils since joining in 2009 from Stoke, with the latest of those over two years ago.
De Laet is no stranger to loan moves having had spells at Sheffield United, Preston and Portsmouth last season, but he has ruled out leaving the current Premier League champions before the end of the campaign.
"There are only 10 more games to go in the Premier League and probably a few more than that in the Championship, so a loan move now might not be the best thing for me," he told
Sky Sports.
"I've got a family, with a little girl, to look after, so I don't really want to be moving around England again for the sake of nine or 10 games.
"It is just one of those things where I'll have to sit tight and try to impress during training and reserve games to earn a first-team chance.
Chance
"I'll just continue to train hard and hopefully the boss will give me a chance some time before the end of the season.
"If I get a chance to either start or come off the bench then it is down to me to take it with both hands."
The Red Devils returned to the top of the table on Sunday following a 2-0 win against West Brom, but De Laet knows that the title race is far from over, especially with United and neighbours Manchester City set to do battle at the Etihad Stadium next month.
"United have been there and done it a number of times before, so that should stand us in good stead," he said.
"We've been on a decent run ourselves and we've been hard to beat when not playing so well at times as well.
"It is all about experience and handling the pressure now, but it could all boil down to what happens in the big derby on April 30."
