Ji-sung Park insists he still has "a big future" at Manchester United after the Red Devils' draw with Chelsea.The South Korean was devastated by Sir Alex Ferguson's decision to leave him out of not just his starting line-up but his entire squad when United beat Chelsea in the Champions League final last May.
With a knee injury following almost immediately, ruling the 27-year-old out of his country's Olympic Games campaign, Park could be forgiven for feeling cursed.
But the bargain buy from PSV Eindhoven is refusing to let his head drop.
And a couple of exceptional performances this week, including a goalscoring contribution to United's battling draw at Chelsea yesterday, have provided a perfect reminder of his ability.
"It has been a hard time for me," said Park.
"I have to show my abilities so I don't suffer that experience again. This was a chance to do that and I need to take them because I still believe I have a big future at Manchester United."
No matter how long Park remains at Old Trafford, he has already proved beyond question he is more than a glorified clothes horse.
While his popularity in Asia does have a beneficial effect on United's commercial department, Park's energy and drive is an equally obvious by-product of his presence.
Ferguson's decision to play the former PSV Eindhoven star yesterday helped nullify the threat of Jose Bosingwa, a tactic that worked equally well on the other side of the field as Owen Hargreaves shut down Ashley Cole.
"I was quite pleased with my performance," Park continued.
"My fitness is coming back now. I have been in the gym a lot and prepared as much as I can, so I am pretty much recovered."
While Ferguson and his senior players have at least played their part in the FA's 'Respect' campaign by not continuing the feud with referee Mike Riley, Park decided to air his frustration at the official's performance.
Riley booked seven United players, ensuring they will receive a US$50,000 fine, but only one from Chelsea.
Yet Park did not see too much difference in the way both sides went about their tasks.
"It was unfair," he said.
"The Chelsea players did the same tackles but the yellow cards went to us. A couple of their men deserved them as well."
While the draw at least allowed Chelsea to cement their place in the top three, United still find themselves languishing in the bottom half of the table, only three places and one point off the relegation zone.
Part of that sorry position is down to the Red Devils' home game with Fulham last month being postponed due to their European Super Cup commitment in Monaco.
The other major factor is a demanding early-season fixture schedule that has seen them visit Portsmouth, Liverpool and now Chelsea in succession, with Arsenal and Manchester City to come before the end of November.
So, taking all things into consideration, Park is not too downhearted - providing United use their latest point as a springboard towards better things.
"I thought we did really well and we were disappointed not to get the three points," he reflected following the Stamford Bridge encounter, which saw Chelsea extend their unbeaten home streak to 85 matches.
"Some of the big decisions were unfair but in the end we got a point away from Old Trafford so it is not that bad, especially against a side like Chelsea, who have not lost (at home) for a such a long time.
"It is a pity we conceded so late because we really wanted to beat the record. We will just have to wait until next time instead."
by espnstar.com
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