Gary Neville interview: Nani can be "anything he wants to be"

By David Anderson in Mirror Football Blog

Published 23:00 09/02/10

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Nani has been told by Gary Neville that he can be "anything he wants to be".

After struggling to live up to his billing as the new Cristiano Ronaldo during his first three years at Old Trafford, Nani is finally delivering.

The tricky Portuguese winger, signed from Ronaldo's old club Sporting Lisbon for £17million, has hit top form and was mesmerising against Arsenal.

Neville never doubted Nani's immense ability and claims that like Ronaldo, he just needed time to settle in.

Nani was 20 when arrived from Portugal and Neville feels his game is all about confidence.

"I think Nani can be anything he wants to be," said the United skipper. "People expect so much from young players, but it sometimes takes time. It took time for Cristiano Ronaldo to settle in at United as well.

"Nani's performances in the past few weeks against Hull City, Manchester City and Arsenal have been absolutely fantastic," said the United skipper.

"He has incredible ability, and when he performs like he did against Arsenal he is unstoppable. Players like Nani, who have such high skill levels, rely on confidence and he is full of confidence at the minute.

"We hope the level of performance, commitment, determination and skill he has shown in the last few games can be maintained until the end of the season because he's a match winner for us."

United hope Nani can maintain his hot streak at Aston Villa tonight as they attempt to build on their impressive return of 19 points from their last seven games.

Nani's form marks a dramatic transformation in his United career and his days looked numbered three months ago when he was exiled for criticising Sir Alex Ferguson for not playing him enough.

Nani's gripe was that he couldn't hit his best form because Fergie wouldn't give him a run in the team.

United fans also questioned him and wondered if he could make it at United, but Patrice Evra claims no-one is doubting him now.

The defender says he no longer feels he needs to praise him because he is playing well on a consistent basis.

"Everyone knows the talent Nani has got," said the Frenchman. "This is why I think the fans were sometimes a little frustrated with him because they knew how good he was.

"But he needed time to show his pace, his power. Now he's played three or four games in a row and he has delivered.

"I'm happy for him, but I'm not surprised because I know the quality he's got and this is now why I don't say well done to him. It's normal, you need to keep going and doing that and I'm very happy for him."

After his slow start, Nani, 23, is emerging as the best of Ferguson's £50million spending splurge from the summer of 2007.

Owen Hargreaves has not played since September 2008 because of operations on both knees, while Anderson is out of favour and has been linked with a move to Lyon.

Ferguson claims Nani's time on the sidelines benefited him and that he has matured.

"He's been injured for a little spell and out of the team and maybe watching has been the best thing for him," said the United manager. "He's shown maturity in the last three games and we always thought that was the key to him.

"He's a young lad and come from another country and he's quite a shy boy, but all the assets have always been there.

"It was a lack of maturity in the boy. He was just young. Some players can adjust easily to another country and maybe coming to Manchester United, but he's taken time.

"What we've looked for is that consistency and he has given us that in the last three games and shown his talents, there's no question about that. We're pleased for him because he's a great addition to us when he's in this kind of form."

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