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Young reveals secret behind his successful season

Crystal Palace v Manchester United - Barclays Premier LeagueAshley Young has revealed the secret behind his excellent season was that he had enjoyed playing football again.

After a troubled campaign during which he became a pantomime villain, the former Aston Villa was arguably United’s biggest success story this season, featuring regularly and impressively in Louis Van Gaal’s side.

“Working with Louis van Gaal has been a great experience,” Young said.

“From pre-season the manager came in and talked about his philosophy and what he wanted to get out of it, the little details in training and just bringing the club on in the way he saw it and how he wanted things to go, it’s been fantastic.

“And for me to have the opportunity to play under him and work under him day in, day out has been brilliant. He’s a fantastic manager and his track record and what he’s won in the game really speaks for itself.”

Young has covered a number of different roles this season and said he was surprised at how much he enjoyed his football even when playing in positions he had never occupied.

“I’ve played in a few different roles and it has been a new experience for me,” he said.

“I never thought I’d see myself at left-back but I’ve found myself there during games and I’ve enjoyed it – I’ve enjoyed playing football again. As a player you want to play every game and I’m no different.

“The manager has called upon me whether it’s been left wing-back, left wing or left-back and I’ve gone out there and given 110% as I always do and I’ve enjoyed the season.”

Young admitted that his success this season was helped by a consistent run in team.

“As I say, as a footballer you want to be playing regularly and I’ve been able to do that this season,” the former England international said.

“I’ve enjoyed it, I’ve really enjoyed playing football again. I’ve kicked on and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.

“We wanted to get ourselves back winning titles and trophies, but it wasn’t meant to be this season.

If we can improve on the form we’ve shown this season and take that into next season, then definitely the titles and cups will be coming back.”

Wayne Rooney and Louis Van Gaal have previously said that United aren’t too far behind Chelsea and Young echoed their thoughts, claiming the gap between United and the champions wasn’t as big as the 17 points suggested.

“I don’t think we’re far behind Chelsea at all. Chelsea have won the title this season and they’ve had a fantastic season – they had every right to win a league with the start they had,” he said.

“But the players are not talking about Chelsea, we’re talking about ourselves, the season we had and the season we’re going to have next season as well.”