RVP gets itchy feet waiting to pick up trophy

Robin van Persie cannot wait to get his hands on the Premier League trophy.

By the time Manchester United receive their prize following next Sunday’s final home game against Swansea, it will be three weeks since the victory over Aston Villa that clinched the success.

That van Persie scored a hat-trick that night is fitting given the 29-year-old’s contribution has been widely acknowledged as the key to United’s 20th championship.

For a player who left Arsenal to compete for major honours rather than a battle to retain a place in the top four, it means next weekend cannot come quickly enough.

“It is the feeling you dream of,” van Persie said.

“Everything is about lifting the trophy.

“There were some great pictures taken after the Aston Villa game, but there was one thing missing from them all; the trophy. That’s the picture that will be framed in my house; me, lifting the Barclays Premier League trophy. I can’t wait for that moment.”

It did seem something of a gamble for both player and club to make such a significant switch last summer. However, it did not take van Persie, nor manager Alex Ferguson, long to realise they had made exactly the right move.

“I wouldn’t have moved if I’d had doubts,” he said. “Instead, from day one I was almost certain we would win trophies — not in a couple of years, but this year.

“I saw the players in training. I saw the way they behaved, the way they lived, their mentality, the way the staff worked, the way the manager and the staff acted.

“When all those elements combine you end up with a team of champions.”