Van der Sar keen to go out on a high

MANCHESTER UNITED goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar begins the slow descent to the end of his career tonight insisting motivation is not going to be a problem.

Van der Sar confirmed last week that he will retire at the end of the season, bringing an end to a stellar 20-year career.

Yet there must be an unspoken concern about how the announcement will affect the veteran Dutchman’s performances. After all, Alex Ferguson openly admits when he announced his retirement for 2002, it had an adverse affect on United’s performances.

However, Van der Sar does not feel the same will apply to him.

The 40-year-old remains driven and motivated, and his sheer love of being outdoors ensures his training performances will not suffer.

“I don’t see motivation until the end of the season being a problem at all,” he said.

“There was a point last year when it was four degrees and the rain was pouring down. Ben Foster asked me whether I still wanted to do it in such rubbish weather. I said I loved it.

“That is still the case. I had a calf injury just after Christmas and was not able to go outside for 12 days.

“The only time I went outside was to get from the training building to the car, and then from the car to the house.

“After 12 days I wanted to go outside. That feeling will always be there. I want to train and I want to contribute to a team that deserves to win something.”

Rested for Saturday’s FA Cup tie at Southampton, Van der Sar will return tonight as United look to consolidate their five-point lead over Arsenal at the top of the Premier League when they take on Aston Villa at Old Trafford.

With a presence already secured in the latter stages of both the Champions League and FA Cup, it promises to be a fabulous epitaph for Van der Sar’s career. Not that he goes in for such neat endings.

And there was certainly not a thought that he might carry on until United would win a trophy he deemed a suitable ending to his career.

“It would be a strange thing to say I was going to carry on for another year just to do something. That would be like forcing things,” he said. “There is always a chance you could finish up with nothing.

“Sure, you would be disappointed if that is what happens. But that is not going to change what I achieved in the rest of my career.”

Ferguson is expected to make a significant number of changes to the side that scraped past Southampton, including an entirely different defence.

Rafael should be available again after concussion and Patrice Evra has returned to Manchester after a family bereavement. So, providing Nemanja Vidic has overcome a minor niggle and Rio Ferdinand has recovered from a groin injury that has kept him out of the last three games, it will be all change at the back, in addition to the return of Dimitar Berbatov and, possibly, Wayne Rooney up front.