“We all feel very fit and are having a great pre-season.
It’s been a great feeling coming into the new season now
having won that championship medal. That title has made us
hungry and we are ready to work hard again.
“I believe it is going to be tight this year with Arsenal,
Chelsea, Liverpool and Newcastle contending. Last year we
had a bad start and we know we cannot afford to do that
again. And we will be working hard to make sure we do not,
it is in our hands. It is a big difference this summer to
last summer.
“It was amazing for me to score 44 goals, having scored 36
in my first season, and it was great to get my first title.
But I would settle for half that many this season if we were
to win the European Cup.
“Ronaldinho seemed very close to coming to us. I followed it
all back home through the papers. “I think he would have
been a good player for us. But he chose Barcelona. If he had
wanted to play for us he would be with us now.”