De Gea indebted to United fans

David de Gea has paid thanks to Manchester United's supporters after being put in the running for the club's player of the year award.

The Spanish goalkeeper endured a nightmare start to his Old Trafford career and was eventually dropped by Sir Alex Ferguson at the start of 2012. In fact he may not have been back in the side now if it wasn't for the ankle injury that appears to have ended the season of rival keeper Anders Lindegaard. However, de Gea has worked hard to win around the doubters, after being signed for £18m from Atletico Madrid last summer, but it is the encouragement he has received from United's fans which has pleased him the most. He told reporters: "It is nice to know supporters are voting me. It is always a positive when the fans are behind you. It is something I can sense when I am on the field and makes me feel more relaxed. "It is a source of extra motivation when you know the fans are right behind you and rooting for you. But all that aside, it is just a case of getting your head down, keep working hard and making sure you do have a continuous improvement all the time. "Before I came, people back home were saying the weather in England is terrible and the food is not much better. "But I am quite a happy, easy-going kind of guy who likes to have a joke around and, to be totally honest, I like the food, the weather has not been so bad either and I am trying to pick up as much English as I can so I can take part in the dressing room banter."