Owen - United comes first

03 November 2009 10:20
MICHAEL Owen drifted off to sleep last night with CSKA Moscow on his mind - not the World Cup in South Africa. Tonight on his agenda is Old Trafford. Saturday night it will be Stamford Bridge. The likes of Green Point Stadium in Cape Town and Ellis Park in Johannesburg are not in his thoughts when he starts counting sheep. Owen's chances of breaking into Fabio Capello's plans for next summer remains a point of debate, but the 29-year-old striker refuses to join in the discussion. "You have to be careful in many ways with what you are saying in case your words get twisted, but England is something I don't really think about," he says. "The last squad I was in was over a year ago now. So it is probably something the media talk about more than I think about it really. I concentrate on playing for United. "I have played for England 89 times and I would love to play for England again. That is the bottom line. If I do or don't, yes I can influence it by playing well and playing in the Champions League. I agree has to be a help. "But I genuinely go to bed thinking that I have got to play well the next day and win games for United. I don't think if I score or play well that I might get picked for England. "First things first and the rest will take care of itself." With Dimitar Berbatov a doubt after suffering a kick on the kneecap against Blackburn last Saturday and new dad Wayne Rooney possibly on paternity leave for the evening, Owen looks to be a certain starter against CSKA. Owen influence Owen's last Champions League goal came for Real Madrid in the Bernabeu Stadium against Dynamo Kiev in October 2004. The European platform that could aid his international comeback and his influence at this level was one of the main attractions when Sir Alex Ferguson swooped to land the free agent last summer. "Obviously one of the draws of coming to a club like United is that you are always competing at the very top level," Owen added. "That is one of many things that you look at when you are first asked to come and join the club. There were many things that stuck in my mind, but one of the big things was the chance to play on big Champions League nights and to play in top Premier League games. "It has to be everyone's dream to play in games like that. It is difficult to win these competitions, but it is obviously our aim to do it and it is exciting to be part of it." Owen's return to the Premier League from Spain in 2005 was blighted by two major injuries at Newcastle and left the hitman being labelled injury-prone which remains a bone of contention. But since moving to the Reds he has largely steered clear of the Carrington treatment room. "I have been fit for most of my time here. I have missed one game (against Sunderland)," he said. "I continue to do stuff off the pitch that hopefully limits the danger. "I get a bee in my bonnet about injuries. When you talk about my career, I have had two long-term injuries, that were both linked probably. But they were not `injury-prone' injuries. "The last Champions League game at home against Wolfsburg I came off before it was too late. If I had stayed on and done another sprint, maybe I would have done my groin and been out for a month." What do you think of Owen's start for United? Have your say.

Source: Manchester_EveningNews