Lukaku: I have been scoring for 10 years, so show some respect
United striker wants credit for his record Smalling says second is least club should expect
The Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku says that he should be afforded more respect for his goalscoring record, which he believes stands up to scrutiny, going all the way back to when he made his debut for Anderlecht at the age of 16.
The 24-year-old had one of his best performances of the season against Chelsea on Sunday, scoring United’s equaliser and then creating the winner for substitute Jesse Lingard in the second half.
Lukaku has 13 goals in the Premier League this season, in jointfifth place with Roberto Firmino and Jamie Vardy, and 22 in all competitions. After a strong start to the season, he scored just once for the club in October and November.
Lukaku conceded that expectations had always been high because, despite his relatively young age, “I’ve been in the game for so long”. He said: “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.”
He got into double figures as a 16-year-old at Anderlecht with 15 league goals in his first full season in the Belgian top flight and bettered that with 16 the following season. Since becoming an established Premier League starter at West Bromwich Albion in 2012 and subsequently Everton, he has reached double figures for goals for the five previous seasons in the league alone and is on track to beat his best return of 25 League goals in his final season at Goodison Park.
His goal against his former club Chelsea was his first against a top-six team this season. “That’s the situation around me,” Lukaku 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.”
He said that he had no regrets about going to Old
Trafford rather than returning to
Chelsea as he was widely expected to do. “No, no, no.
When I make a choice it’s with my head and my heart. I made the right choice for me. As you can see, I’m in a good situation. I’m with a manager and players who push me every day. The challenge is there to win and it’s something that I wanted.”
What did he think would afford him the respect he thinks he deserves? “If I 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. A lot of big players that we recognise today are players who have won something. I want to be part of them.” Chris Smalling said that United should at the very least claim second place in the Premier League after beating Chelsea. “We’ve been second for near enough the whole season, so I think we’re within our rights to make sure we finish there. Considering how close we are in the table, I think it gives them [Chelsea] a massive blow and us a lift. “When you’ve got Rom charging through and knocking balls past players and winning things, it’s great that he is doing it from the first minute up to that last minute when we really needed him. “I think he had that bit between his teeth, he wanted to get after them, and I think that’s just going to breed more of his confidence because he’s on a run of goals at the minute so long may that continue because we’ve got some big games.”