Owen- My strike-rate is still up there with the best and stats dont tell whole story
24 Nov 2009 - 12:45:39
Michael Owen isn't bothered by Chelsea's five-point lead over Manchester United and cares even less about his goalscoring record this season - because he insists you can make statistics tell any story you want.
Happy with his form: Michael Owen
The ex-Liverpool, Real Madrid and Newcastle striker has netted four goals in 16 United appearances this season, proof that he is a spent force according to some critics.
But Owen, 29, is delighted with the way his unexpected chance to shine at Old Trafford is going and points to the fact that his strike rate still takes some beating.
He said: 'You can twist stats whichever way you want. A goal every one-and-a-halfgames sounds good, whereas four goals in 16 games isn't quite soimpressive. But they're both accurate.
'All I'mconcerned about is playing and scoring as many times as I can. At Madrid it was a similar story - I didn't start every game but I ended up with the best goals-to-minutes ratio in the league.
'I've played in a team that was struggling and I much prefer life at awinning club, even if that means I don't play every minute of every game.
'I'm here at a club that's full of quality, training with topplayers every day and working under a top manager. I've had my fairshare of starts and minutes on the pitch this season so I'm not aboutto complain.'
United currently trail Premier League leaders Chelsea by five points but Owen knows from bitter experience that Sir Alex Ferguson's side really come good in the New Year.
He added: 'As an outsider for many years, the image I have of Manchester United isof a team that only really hits top gear around Christmas. I remember alot of unbeaten runs in the latter part of seasons and, looking aheadat our fixtures, we're aiming to embark on one of those now.
Time to celebrate: Michael Owen has just scored against Barnsley for United
'We've gota good opportunity - we don't play any of the "big" sides again untilthe end of January - so there's definitely no need to panic over afive-point gap.
'And there's no way on Earth we deserved to lose at Chelsea either - we walked away from Stamford Bridge with our heads held high andfeeling pretty happy with the way we played. There were plenty ofpositives to take out of that performance.'
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