Man Utd star Romelu Lukaku: I think I've proved myself, I expect a bit more respect
ROMELU LUKAKU believes he can earn the respect he craves by leading Manchester United to trophies.
The United striker fired in his first goal against a top-six side for the Old Trafford club as he helped them come from behind against Chelsea on Sunday.
Lukaku, a £90m signing from Everton in the summer, also provided the assist for Jesse Lingard’s winner in a man-of-the-match display from the Belgium international.
He has scored 22 goals this season but feels he is still not getting the credit he deserves.
When asked what he needs to do to get the credit he deserves, Lukaku said: “If I win. I want to win. As long as I win and I lead my team to winning that's when I will be really satisfied.
“As a football player, I don't play for the individual. I think a lot of big players that we recognise today in the game are players who have won something and I want to be part of them.
“The road is still far ahead, but I'm ambitious and I'll work every day for my team to win - I'm not thinking about myself.
“I've been in the game for so long. I started playing when I was 16. Year in, year out people expect 20 goals from me.
“I've been doing it for 10 years straight so I think I've proved myself. You expect a bit more respect but it's the situation we're in.
“I don't listen to it. I just want to improve and show the people what I can do on the pitch.”
One of the criticisms thrown at Lukaku this season is his failure to perform in the big games for United following his big-money move from Everton.
“That's the situation around me,” he said. “I just need to keep working hard.
“I think I have got a nice record. I've scored a lot this season and I just want to keep going. I know that I can improve and I want to improve and really work hard.
“I want to win trophies. We are still in the fight in two competitions. It's not going to be easy but it's a nice challenge.”
Lukaku, at 24, still feels the best is yet to come from him as he continues to build on a career that started at 16 at Anderlecht.
He added: “I'm 24 and I think I have a lot of years ahead of me to improve before my prime so I'm never satisfied. I always want to improve and get better and it's a nice challenge.”
Daily Star Sunday