Macheda wants to stay

Federico Macheda is ready to prove his worth to Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.

The Italian spent the second half of last season on loan at Sampdoria, who were relegated from Serie A, and the striker says he was scared to leave his house due to the fans' anger at the club's situation.

Now back at United after failing to score a goal during his time in Italy, Macheda netted twice in the Red Devils' opening match of their pre-season tour of America, and the 19-year-old says his stint on loan in his home country was just what was needed to spur him on.

He told reporters: “When you come back, like I have, you have a better focus and can see things a lot more clearly, with another mentality.

“In that way, going to Sampdoria was good. It was a bad spell, but sometimes a bad experience like that can make you better.

"The six months away from United has made me grow up a lot.

“The fans in Italy can be a little crazy when things don’t go well. There are fans who pay a lot from their wages to follow the team, so sometimes it happens and you have to accept that.

“But that kind of thing doesn’t happen at United and I’m glad to be back.

"When you leave United to go to another team, you can see the difference.”

He added: “I couldn't really go out of my house in the six months I was there, because there was always the chance you’d end up fighting with fans who were angry with us. So it wasn’t the best situation.

“I had a tough time at Sampdoria because I didn't play much and the team were relegated.”

Macheda scored a dramatic winning goal on his United debut against Aston Villa in 2009, but has only netted three times in 26 appearances since.

And the striker admits it was difficult to establish himself at Old Trafford after making such an impact in his first match.

He said: “I always had my feet on the ground.

“My debut was fantastic, but it’s not easy to have a debut like that.

“After that, it wasn’t easy for me to establish myself in the team, because I didn’t play every game.

“I was only 17 at the time, a young boy. I’m still only 19 but sometimes, particularly when you have a debut like mine, people expect you to score fantastic goals in every game, which isn’t easy.”

Macheda will be battling for a starting place with Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez, Danny Welbeck, Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Owen and Mame Biram Diouf this season.

But despite Owen being promised more playing time and Sir Alex insisting Welbeck will not join another club on loan, Macheda says he is not looking to leave.

“There are a lot of strikers at the club, all of them good players. But if the boss gives me a chance, I’ll take it," he added.

“Even though there is a lot of competition for place, I want to stay and I know I will take my chance when I am given it.”