Kuszczak eyes goalkeeper´s jersey

Manchester United’s Tomasz Kuszczak has his sights set on succeeding Edwin van der Sar as the club’s first-choice goalkeeper, despite competition from England international Ben Foster.

The Polish stopper conceded twice against FC Seoul on Friday but could do little about either goal and overall put in a solid performance.

Kuszczak, who has made 37 appearances in three years for the English Premier League champions, told MUTV he hopes boss Sir Alex Ferguson took note of the performance.

“I?ve been trying my hardest to impress the manager for three years now and I hope this year I can impress him so much that he gives me more and more chances to show what I can do,” he said.

“Pre-season is an important environment for me because I can get some games and work hard.

“I?m at United to play games and I want to be a regular here. That?s my focus. I feel settled here in the team and I feel I’m making steps forward all the time. I hope this will be a good season for me.”

Kuszczak said the Red Devils’ Asian tour, which ends with a match against Hangzhou Greentown on Sunday, had been a success but he was disappointed that the club missed out on playing in Jakarta.

A scheduled match there was called off after the hotel the team were due to stay in was bombed in suicide attacks.

“The trip has been great, although it?s disappointing we couldn?t get to Indonesia,” he said.

“I hope we end up there at some stage, however, because we know we have a lot of supporters there and it would be nice to play in front of them.”

And he said the tour had highlighted the global appeal of the Premier League champions.

“There?s a big following wherever we go in Asia and I always enjoy trips like this. It?s great to see the world and experience different cultures and people.

“The fans are everywhere — wherever we go they?re screaming and it?s impossible for us to go out anywhere. You feel like big pop stars.”