Darren Fletcher

I knew that Roy Keane really liked me.

I played so many games for United and was there for such a long time. United is the biggest club in the world, so you will always be remembered for your time there.

Do I have regrets about leaving United? Well, I wish I had listened to Louis van Gaal during the first three games and played the way he wanted me to play, rather than playing silly passes at 0-0 in an attempt to win the game.

When I am on the pitch at Old Trafford, it just feels comfortable. It feels like home.

I don't go to friendlies just to add to my cap total. There is a huge point to these matches.

When I represent my country I don't think about the number of caps, but about trying to qualify for finals. That's what counts.

You dream as a kid of playing for your country in a finals whether it is World Cup or Euro and I would hate it if when it is all over I never featured in either.

Our generation, we grew up in being prepared for a career physically and ability wise, but it wasn't there mentally. It was tough love and you were told to get on with it. Those were the messages we got.

I had good family around me and good support.

There are thousands of people suffering from ulcerative colitis, from young kids to adults. It's a very difficult illness to deal with.

When you are a footballer you think you're invincible.

My dad, Sir Alex Ferguson and Roy Keane are the three biggest influences on my career. They are the people who helped me.

I get people coming up to me and asking what I think of Roy Keane. I love Roy Keane!

As players you get more mature every season and pick up more experience.

It was Roy Keane challenging me as Manchester United captain and it was something I was used to in the dressing room. The long and short of it is that I knew Roy Keane liked me and that was his way of showing he liked me, because he knew I was capable of more and wanted to challenge me.

Although I was prepared to stop playing for the greater good of my health, I was fortunate to find out that playing football wasn't making me ill.

I've definitely got a mindset of making up for lost time.

I stayed silent until about 2011 or 2012 because it's not something you generally talk about, the symptoms of ulcerative colitis.

I would have liked to have seen Chelsea play with Lampard and Ballack as centre-halves and to have seen what would have happened then.

This 'anti-footballer' term seems to have come about because of me!

That defensive midfield role is almost a specified position since Makelele made it famous.

Obviously you need your big players or so-called star players to win you games but it's the team that wins you the league.

I want to do things with West Brom that they haven't done before, or haven't done for a while.

I enjoyed my time under Louis van Gaal and I learnt a lot, but it never happened for me under him.

Dad would take me everywhere. We'd be in the car for hours and hours every week and we'd be open and honest. As a kid, he guided me, helped me make decisions.

Maybe at times I tried too hard.

There are times you have to dig deep to win football matches.

When you win titles, you don't win it by playing fancy football all the time.

Any United side talking about accepting the top four is just not good enough.

I dropped as low as 9st 10 1/2.

It is a dangerous mindset to have, to target fourth place.

For me personally, I just have to keep my head down and work hard.

It's important you have a good squad because it's a long season.

Competition is great, it brings the best out in everyone.

Having two lads, twins Jack and Tyler, has matured me as a person, and that helps on the pitch as well. I've matured so much. Having the boys has helped take my mind away from football.

When I was younger I was intense and uptight about how well I was playing. I was constantly thinking about situations in games, what I could do better, or a bad performance would play on my mind. If you're sitting at home with nothing else to do it's easier to think about those things.

There's more than one way to win a match.

Ronaldo was brilliant for us as much as we were brilliant for him, but now we have a new style, new players, and we find the best way to win a match as a team. That's United's secret and a lot of the players have learnt that from Giggs, Scholes and Neville.

My dad is my hero.

There are times when you don't play well but I always turned up.

I know what it meant to me to play for my country.

I have had my time and that's football. It doesn't stop for anyone, it moves on. I have had my time and have given it my all.

At Man United we had a great guy called Dave Bushell, the head of education. He was fantastic at spotting when you were down. I had a lot of injury problems at United between 16 and 18 and he'd recognise my mood.

In football, you bottle everything up. It's dangerous because to perform at your best you need to be mentally ready.

People close to me were getting worried because my bowel was in a bad way. There was a concern it could perforate at any time, almost explode inside me. I don't like talking about death but I would have been in trouble if something like that had happened.

I do not have ulcerative colitis. I have come through that now. I am leading a normal life. It has all been a success. I am just like anyone else.

I am always thinking about football.

I worked hard to be a professional footballer.

I've obviously worked with Sir Alex Ferguson at club level but Walter Smith is a real top manager. He's definitely up with Alex Ferguson and similar in style, along with what he has achieved.

You have got to earn the title. Nobody gives you the trophy. The team that wins the league will be the team that deserved it and showed the best form throughout the season.